Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga arrives at his office in Tokyo on Aug. 26, 2021. (Kyodo)

       TOKYO (Kyodo) -- The ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Thursday decided to hold its presidential election on Sept. 29, with incumbent Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga expected to face rivals including former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida.

       The election, for which campaigning starts on Sept. 17, is effectively a vote for deciding the country's leader as the LDP controls the powerful lower house.

       Suga, 72, whose term as LDP president is set to expire on Sept. 30, has already said he will run in the leadership race.

       Kishida, 64, who ran against Suga in last year's presidential election, is expected hold a press conference later Thursday to announce his intent to run in the race.

       Others who have so far expressed their interest in running in the election are Sanae Takaichi, known as a conservative member of the LDP who is close to former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, and LDP policy chief Hakubun Shimomura.

       Former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who ran in the last leadership race, has suggested he will not join in the election this time.

       Earlier in the week, LDP Secretary General Toshihiro Nikai said his faction will give its backing to the re-election of Suga as LDP president.

       Key LDP figures including Suga's predecessor Abe and LDP Diet affairs chief Hiroshi Moriyama have similarly expressed their backing for Suga even as public support for his government drops over its handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

       Last year's LDP presidential election was held following the abrupt resignation of Abe due to health reasons, with only party lawmakers and prefectural associations casting ballots. Suga won as major party factions, including one led by Nikai, threw their support behind him despite Suga not belonging to a faction himself.

       But this year's election will be held with voters expanded to include rank-and-file members of the LDP and allied groups, raising uncertainty about whether Suga will secure a second term.

       The LDP lawmakers hold 383 votes and rank-and-file members hold an equal number of votes, and whoever wins the majority of the combined 766 votes will become the party's president.

       In addition to the party presidential election, the timing of a general election has been under focus as the four-year terms of House of Representatives lawmakers expire on Oct. 21 and the prime minister has the power to dissolve the lower house for a snap election.

       Suga is now considering dissolving the lower house in early October if re-elected as party leader.

       Suga was widely believed to be seeking to vaccinate the population against the novel coronavirus as quickly as possible, stage a successful Olympic Games to get a boost in public sentiment and dissolve the more powerful chamber of parliament for a general election after the Tokyo Paralympics end on Sept. 5, looking to win the LDP leadership race unchallenged.

       But less than half of the population has been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, and the government was forced to extend its state of emergency through Sept. 12 due to a sharp rise in infections during the Olympics, leading to a plunge in the Cabinet approval rate and making it difficult for Suga to stick to the original scenario.

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