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

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

Prominent contestants in the race include Shigeru Ishiba, Shinjiro Koizumi, Sanae Takaichi, Yoshimasa Hayashi, Takayuki Kobayashi, etc. Ishiba, a former banker, is contesting the leadership race for the fifth time and has said this will be his final battle.

Shinjiro leads the race

Shinjiro, the son of former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, has been considered a potential candidate for the top job since he was elected to parliament in 2009. If elected, he would be Japan's youngest prime minister at the age of 43. Sanae Takaichi, 63, is economic security minister. A staunch conservative, a disciple of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.