Former Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga will be one of the key players in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s upcoming leadership race, as a candidate he backs could gain widespread support from non-mainstream members of the party.
Suga, who has distanced himself from current Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, hopes to back a figure who can save the party from woes linked to a political funding scandal, people familiar with his thinking said. Kishida’s current term as LDP president ends in September.
Speaking before an LDP branch meeting in Kagoshima Prefecture on Saturday, Suga recalled his 2020 party leadership bid, without commenting on the next race.
