Nine ruling party candidates vie to replace Japan's outgoing Prime Minister Kishida

abcnews.go.com:

Japan finds out its next leader on Friday when the ruling party of outgoing Prime Minister Fumio Kishida picks his replacement in a key vote that could affect the country’s political stability in coming months

TOKYO — A record nine candidates are running in Japan's ruling party election Friday to replace outgoing Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

A former defense minister who is a longtime veteran, the relatively young son of a popular former prime minister and the economic security minister who would be the country's first woman prime minister are considered top contenders.

No candidate is likely to win a majority in the first round, so the top two vote-getters will advance to a second round to be held immediately after the first on Friday afternoon.

Here are the candidates:

Ishiba, a 67-year-old former banker, is running in the leadership race for a fifth time and said this will be his “final battle.”

First elected to parliament in 1986, he has served as defense minister, agriculture minister and other key Cabinet and party posts.

Despite his longstanding popularity among voters, the outspoken idealist has struggled to win enough support from fellow party lawmakers.

But now, Ishiba’s experience, stability and expertise is increasingly considered a strength for the party as it prepares to face the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan’s new leader, former Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, a veteran known for gripping speeches.

Considered a defense policy expert, Ishiba has proposed an Asian version of the NATO military alliance and a more equal Japan-U.S. security alliance. Ishiba is a supporter of Taiwan’ s democracy. He calls for an establishment of a disaster management agency in one of the world’s