The Democratic Party's former secretary-general has formally entered the race to lead Japan's main opposition party, laying the groundwork for a battle over whether the Democrats can offer viable alternatives to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's economic policies, known as Abenomics.
Yukio Edano declared his candidacy Tuesday for the party's presidency, which will be decided Sept. 1. He faces Seiji Maehara, a former foreign minister who announced his run the day before. The two are competing to replace current chief Renho, who said in late July that she would step down to take responsibility for the party's stinging loss in the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election early that month.
