TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party's presidential race will go to a runoff between former internal affairs minister Sanae Takaichi and farm minister Shinjiro Koizumi after none of the five candidates secured a majority in the first round of voting on Saturday.

The winner of the LDP's leadership election will replace Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba as party chief.

Among the five candidates, Takaichi, Koizumi and Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi were widely seen as the leading contenders.

In last year's leadership election, contested by a record nine candidates, Ishiba trailed Takaichi in the first round but prevailed in the runoff.

The new LDP head, whose term lasts until 2027, is poised to become Japan's next prime minister later this month, as the minority coalition with its junior partner, the Komeito party, remains the largest force in parliament and the opposition parties are not unified.

While Takaichi, a 64-year-old who is seeking to become Japan's first female prime minister, is the leading choice among the public, Koizumi, 44, son of former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, enjoys the strongest support among his fellow lawmakers, according to recent media polls.

Takaichi, known as a staunch conservative, and Koizumi, who could become Japan's youngest postwar leader, were seen as early frontrunners, but Hayashi, 64, a dovish moderate with extensive ministerial experience, quickly closed the gap ahead of the poll.

The other contenders are former economic security minister Takayuki Kobayashi and former Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi. Like Hayashi, both graduated from the prestigious University of Tokyo and earned master's degrees from Harvard University.

In early September, Ishiba announced his intention to step down to take responsibility for the ruling bloc's loss of majority in the House of Councillors election in July, bringing forward the party's next leadership contest that was originally scheduled for 2027.

The coalition also lost its majority in the House of Representatives election in October 2024 under the leadership of Ishiba, who had only become prime minister earlier in the month.

Vote to choose leader of Japan's ruling LDP goes to runoff