News analysis
LDP's conservative interests win over popular sentiment
Voted to succeed the PM, Fumio Kishida needs to bridge this ideological divide
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Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) leadership contest yesterday was pitched as a duel between the conservative orthodox and maverick reformists.
But the election that was won by former foreign minister Fumio Kishida, 64, who is set to succeed Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, only served to cement the clear upper hand that the outsized conservative influence holds over the popular grassroots sentiment.