As the Liberal Democratic Party gears up for Saturday’s presidential vote, two candidates are going head-to-head for the top spot in media polls. Among the five candidates, agriculture minister Shinjiro Koizumi and former economic security minister Sanae Takaichi are the two front-runners. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi is catching up, but perhaps not fast enough to overtake Koizumi and Takaichi. Former economic security minister Takayuki Kobayashi and former LDP Secretary-General Toshimitsu Motegi lag further behind.