Japan's ruling party selects new leader to serve as the country's next prime minister.

• The upcoming LDP race has nine candidates and could result in Japan's youngest or first female premier or see a seasoned politician take the post.
• The prime minister-elect, who won the LDP poll, is expected to be approved by parliament on Oct. 1 and will inherit a government facing a corruption scandal and an economy in transition.

On Friday, Japan's ruling party will choose the successor to Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who is stepping down, in a contest that may determine the country's next leader.

The upcoming election has nine candidates and could result in Japan's youngest or first female premier or a seasoned politician becoming the premier.

In August, Kishida surprised the Liberal Democratic Party by announcing he would not seek re-election, thus ending his three-year tenure.

The LDP poll winner, who is expected to be approved as prime minister on Oct. 1, will inherit a government with a corruption scandal and an economy in transition. The party's majority in both chambers of the legislature guarantees that its leader will become the next prime minister.

According to polls, the top contenders in the election are ex-environment minister Shinjiro Koizumi, economic security minister Sanae Takaichi, and former defense minister Shigeru Ishiba.

Ishiba, 67, is running for the post for a fifth time and has endorsed the Bank of Japan's policy of steadily raising interest rates and called for the establishment of an Asian NATO to deter threats from China and North Korea.

One of the two women in the race, Takaichi, 63, has advocated for more fiscal stimulus and strengthening diplomacy and defense in Japan's economy.

Japan's 43-year-old Koizumi, with the least high-level government experience among the candidates, would become the country's youngest prime minister since the end of World War II. He has pledged to implement social and economic reforms and enhance LDP transparency.

If no candidate receives a majority of votes in the first round, a run-off election will be held between the top two candidates.

The new leader of Japan will face a challenging economic and political landscape.

The country faces challenges such as its transition from a period of stagnation, diplomatic and security threats from China, the possibility of a second Trump term in the U.S., and a demographic crisis resulting from rapid aging.