http://www.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/index.html
*Japan's governing party to elect new leader on Sunday* The 2 candidates in the race to lead Japan's governing Liberal Democratic Party are making their final appeals for support from lawmakers and other party members ahead of the leadership election. Voting by the party's rank-and-file members ends on Saturday, followed by vote-counting at its 29 prefectural chapters. So the candidates -- former Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda and the LDP's Secretary General, Taro Aso -- are now focusing on gaining support from the party's lawmakers, who will vote on Sunday. Mr Fukuda is the front-runner, with support from all LDP factions except the one led by Mr Aso. Meanwhile, Mr Aso is trying to raise his profile in the party in a bid to turn the situation around. The LDP dominates the relatively powerful lower house of parliament, so the winner of the party's leadership election is certain to become Prime Minister, succeeding Shinzo Abe, who abruptly announced his resignation last week. Meanwhile, 3 opposition parties -- the Democratic Party of Japan, the Social Democratic Party, and the People's New Party -- plan to meet next Thursday to discuss strategies for the next Lower House election, which they expect to happen soon. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
