TOKYO: Former Japanese Prime Minister NODA Yoshihiko, 67, is leading in the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan’s leadership race, followed by former CDP leader Yukio Edano, 60, a Jiji Press survey of CDP lawmakers has found.

Meanwhile, a survey of CDP regional party officials, including local assembly members, showed that Noda, Edano and current party chief Kenta Izumi, 50, are in a tight race.

The situation is still fluid as many respondents in both surveys said they had not decided whom to vote for in the leadership election scheduled for Monday.

The leadership poll is expected by some to go to a run-off as none of the four candidates, also including House of Representatives lawmaker Harumi Yoshida, 52, currently has the momentum to win a majority in the first vote.

In the election, the candidates will compete for a total of 740 points. The CDP’s 136 incumbent lawmakers will have two points each, while its 98 planned national election candidates will have one point. There will also be 185 points for each of two groups, the 1,236 regional assembly members from the party and its 114,792 rank-and-file and cooperative members.

According to the survey of CDP lawmakers, about 40 of them are currently expected to support Noda, and about 30 are seen backing Edano. Izumi and Yoshida are believed to have secured the support of about 25 and about 20, respectively. About 20 percent of all CDP lawmakers did not specify their preferred candidates.

In the survey of senior officials at the party’s chapters in the country’s 47 prefectures, nine respondents said they support Izumi, with many of them praising his performance over the last three years, including winning all three by-elections for the Lower House in April.

Both Noda and Edano were named by eight prefectural chapter officials, and Yoshida by three. The remaining 19 chapter officials refused to respond.

JIJI Press