Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Regional Revitalization Minister Shigeru Ishiba react after passing controversial security bills during a lower house plenary session at the parliament in Tokyo on Thursday. Photo: AFP

Former Japanese Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba is the most popular choice among the public to be the next prime minister, media opinion polls showed on Sunday, as the race kicks off to succeed Shinzo Abe after his abrupt resignation last week.

Ishiba has about 34 percent of the public's support, more than double the 14 percent for Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, the second-most popular choice, a weekend Kyodo News survey showed.

A Nikkei/TV Tokyo poll showed Ishiba with 28 percent support, followed by current Defense Minister Taro Kono with 15 percent. Suga came in fourth place with 11 percent, the poll showed.

The surveys highlight a split between public opinion and internal Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) politics.

Suga - a longtime lieutenant of Abe's in a key supporting role - is expected to get the backing of the faction led by LDP Secretary-General Toshihiro Nikai and of other major factions, local media reported, putting him in a favorable position.

That would make it an uphill battle for Ishiba, a vocal Abe critic who unsuccessfully challenged the out-going prime minister in the last LDP leadership race in 2018 and is considered less popular within the party.

Another potential candidate, LDP policy chief Fumio Kishida, came in last place in both of the public opinion surveys.

Abe's resignation announcement on Friday, citing the worsening of a chronic illness, set the stage for the party leadership election, which public broadcaster NHK said was likely to place around September 13 to 15.

Reuters