former ldp secretary-general ishiba shigeru, chief cabinet secretary suga yoshihide, and ldp policy chiefisishida fumi are vying for the leadership. but campaign activities are being confined to major cities becacause of the coronavirus. >> translator: i will once again devote myself to regional revitalization. i want to achieve a great reset to rewrite japapan's bluepririn. ototherwise, our country won't able to survive the next era. >> translator: i vow to keep on pushing forward the policies of prime minister abe. the top priority is coronavirus countermeasures. at all costs, i will stop an explosive spread like wewe saw the u.s. and europe and protect the lives and health of the people. >> translator: i will listen carefully and turn the voices of the masses into political energy. disparity and division have been growing in japan and around the world. i will tackle this modern issue and foster cooperation. >> 535 votes will decide the winner next monday. 394 of those will be cast by party lawmakers. the remainder will come from the party's 47 prefectural local chapters, which will hav

>> also in thee race are kishid fumio, ldp policy chief and form foreign minister, and ishib ishiba shigeru, former secretary general and former defense minister. most of the party's large factions have pledged their votes for suga together amounting to two-thirds of the sitting lawmakers. on september 14th, 394 ldp lawmakers will get to vote on who becomes their next leader. local chapters representing the country's 47 prefectures will decide on how to designate three votes each. two days after the new party president is chosen, japan's diet will vote on the prime minister. a win there is nearly a fore gone conclusion since it's controlled by an ldp-led coalition. >>> staying in japan, researchers here have begun evaluating blood samples from coronavirus survivors to see how long antibodies remain in the human body. they want to analyze the risk of reinfection and help develop vaccines. antibodies are proteins created in the human body after a person is infected by y a virus. one type called neutralalizing antibodies are s said t to prev infection. a team led by researchers from yokohama c

former ldp secretary general ishiba shigeru is visiting areas hit by the 2011 earthquake, tsunami, andlear accident. chief cabinet secretary suga yoshihide visited the offices of party lawmakers to seek their support. >> suga is also connecting with local party members online. ldp policy chief kishida fumio visited the northeastern prefecture of miyagi. he met local rice farmers who are worried about low demand for their crops amid the coronavirus pandemic. >> 394 ldp lawmakers have votes in choosing the new party leader. in addition, local chapters in the country's 47 prefectures will have three votes each. suga appears to be the front runner after securing support from major ldp factions. next wednesday, the new party president will be virtually assured to win the vote for prime minister in the diet as it is controlled by an ldp-led coalition. the person will succeed abe shinzo who announced last month he is stepping down to deaeawith health issues. ♪ >>> walt disney is facing a backlash over itits release of e of the bigiggest movovies the year. someme criticscs are calling fo boyco

won more than 70% of the votes cast, beating his two opponents, former ldp secretary-general ishiba shigerund kishida fumio. diet members will vote wednesday to pick the new prime minister, and suga will almost certainly win, since both houses are controlled by an ldp-led coalition. new cabinet ministers will be named later that day. the new ldp president is known for his loyalty and tough work ethic, but when not at work, suga keeps a low profile. this next report takes a look at his personal history. >> reporter: nearly every day the last eight years, suga yoshihide stood here taking questions from the reporters, especially in times when the government faced tough criticism, from allegations of corruptions to unpopular decisions. the top spokesperson seemed unflappable. >> reporter: then he took this step into the glare of the public eye. suga unveiled japan's new era name, reiwa. it is an uncommon honor, whihic madede millions look at the t s trusted aide and adviser in a new light. it earned him the name uncle reiwa and started speculation about the man behind the podium. he grew up out

. >> also in the racace are kishi fumio, ldp policy chief, and former foreign minister, and ishiba shigeruformer ldp secretary general and former defense minister. of the three, suga has secured the most support. most of the party's large factions have pledged their votes for suga, together amounting to two-thirds of the party's sitting lawmakers. on september 14th, 394 ldp lawmakers will get to vote on who becomes their next leader. local chapters representing the country's 47 prefectures will decide on how to designate three votes each. two days after the new party president is chosen, japan's diet will vote on the prime minister. a win there is nearly a foregone conclusion since it's controlled by an ldp-led coalition. >>> pope francis has held his >>> china is rejecting a report by the u.s. defense department that projects beijing will double its stock pile of new clear war heads over the next decade. >> translator: the report deliberately distorts china's strategic intentions. china firmly opposes this. >> the spokesperson says china urges the united states to abandon its cold war men

suga is facing off against the party's former secretary-general, ishiba shigeru, and its policy chiefshida fumio. the winner is set to succeed prime minister abe shinzo, who is stepppping down over health issues. nhk interviewed party members about their vovoting intentions and found momore than 70% suppp suga. that includes both sitting lawmakers and local members across the country. 535 votes will decide the winner monday. nearly 400 of those will be cast by ldp diet members. the rest will come from the party's 47 prefectural chapters, which have three votes each. earlier, ai uchida spoke with nhk world political reporter aizawa yuko for an update on campaigning in the ldp presidential election. how did suga get such a big lead so early in the race? >> one big reason is a desire among ldp members for continuity. the coronavirus has created a lot of uncertainty, and suga has been a voice for the government from the beginning. as abe's chief cabinet secretary, he was there when strategies were first rolled out, and lawmakers hope e that can keep up that momentum. early on, influential

. >> forrer ldp secretary general ishiba shigeru appealed to lawmakers who feel they're underrepresented translator: if the public thinks a small group of people are making the country's popolitical decisions or that popoliticians only care about their personal ininterests, the vevery foundation of democracyc will crumble. this e election will decide wha kind of nation japan is. i will do my best for that cause. >> 394 ldp members will vote to choose their new leader on september 14th. local chapters representing the country's 47 prefectures will decide how to designate three votes each. the new party president is virtually assured to win a vote on the premiership ton diet two days later as it's controlled by an ldp-led coalition. >>> as the coronavirus pandemic continues, the u.s. centers for disease control and prevention has reportedly notified all 50 states to be ready to distribute a potential vaccine as early as november 1st. but some health experts are warning the timeline may be too ambitious. u.s. media reports that the cdc have sent documents advising early planning for a covid

first foreign minister fumio kishida and his former minister at large for economic reconstruction shigeru ishibarather, the public‘s favourite. who looks set to win or who looks or has looks pretty strong in campaigning coachella i think campaign wise, suga looks the favourite. but i think... suga has been the party favourite to serve out the continuity. suga initially, when mr abe announced he was go to step down, said he did not want the post at all. and there are questions also, because any mr abe did shut down a lot of questions from journalists. is there a chance we could see more of this with mr suga? i doubt that. i think ms. -- i think —— i think suga knows he is being watched very closely. the putting on his performance in the next 12 months or so, he could open themselves up to serve the new term is the prime minister, so he would be very careful in treading many things. that includes certainly his relationship with the media. 0k, things. that includes certainly his relationship with the media. ok, the deputy prime minister has hinted there could be a snap general election as soon as t