Kishida faces pressure ahead of LDP election

Though the election for the post of president of Japan's Liberal Democratic Party is more than two months away, several big leaders have thrown down the gauntlet to current leader and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

Former LDP secretary-general Shigeru Ishiba and Digital Transformation Minister Taro Kono have made it clear they are vying for the top job in the ruling party.

Ryota Takeda, the former minister for internal affairs and communications, organized a dinner on July 1 for Ishiba and former prime minister Yoshihide Suga, who has openly urged Kishida to step aside following his handling of a political fundraising scandal, saying the prime minister should take responsibility for it, the Nippon News Network reported.