<p>Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba denied talk on Wednesday that he had decided to quit after a source and media reports said he plans to step down following a bruising upper house election defeat.</p><p>Some in his own party are questioning his leadership and the opposition is weighing a no-confidence motion.</p><p>Ishiba's resignation as prime minister would trigger a leadership race in his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), with the winner facing a parliament vote to become prime minister of the world's fourth-largest economy.</p>.Japan PM Ishiba vows to stay in office to deal with US tariff talks.<p>Here are the LDP lawmakers who might throw their hats in the ring:</p><p>Sanae Takaichi, 64:</p><p>A Yomiuri newspaper poll following Sunday's election showed Takaichi as the top pick for prime minister in an LDP-led government, with 26% of votes, followed by farm minister Shinjiro Koizumi, at 22%.</p><p>Representing the party's right wing, she lost to Ishiba in the September leadership race in a run-off vote. Takaichi previously served as Japan's economic security minister, internal affairs minister and the LDP's policy council chief.</p><p>She is known for her conservative views, such as revising the pacifist constitution, and is a regular visitor to the Yasukuni war shrine, viewed by some Asian neighbours as a symbol of past militarism.</p><p>She also opposes allowing women to retain their maiden names, saying it would undermine tradition.</p><p>Takaichi courted controversy in 2016 when she suggested the government could revoke broadcasting licences of media companies deemed to be politically biased.</p>.<p>Shinjiro Koizumi, 44:</p><p>The son of a former prime minister and heir to a political dynasty with a hand in governing Japan for more than a century, he would become its youngest prime minister in eight decades if he succeeded Ishiba.</p><p>Koizumi also ran in the last party leadership race, presenting himself as a reformer able to restore public trust in a party mired in scandal.</p><p>Unlike Takaichi, who left government after her defeat in that contest, the Columbia University-educated Koizumi stayed close to Ishiba as his agriculture minister, overseeing the release of rice stockpiles in a bid to curb soaring prices of the staple.</p><p>Toshimitsu Motegi, 69:</p><p>A former foreign minister, Motegi has a reputation as a tough negotiator and handled talks with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer when President Donald Trump was last in office.</p><p>He has also served as trade minister, economy minister and the party's secretary general.</p><p>He studied at the Harvard Kennedy School and worked at the Yomiuri newspaper and consulting firm McKinsey before entering politics in 1993.</p><p>Other potential candidates include Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi, 64, and Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato, 69. </p>
<p>Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba denied talk on Wednesday that he had decided to quit after a source and media reports said he plans to step down following a bruising upper house election defeat.</p><p>Some in his own party are questioning his leadership and the opposition is weighing a no-confidence motion.</p><p>Ishiba's resignation as prime minister would trigger a leadership race in his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), with the winner facing a parliament vote to become prime minister of the world's fourth-largest economy.</p>.Japan PM Ishiba vows to stay in office to deal with US tariff talks.<p>Here are the LDP lawmakers who might throw their hats in the ring:</p><p>Sanae Takaichi, 64:</p><p>A Yomiuri newspaper poll following Sunday's election showed Takaichi as the top pick for prime minister in an LDP-led government, with 26% of votes, followed by farm minister Shinjiro Koizumi, at 22%.</p><p>Representing the party's right wing, she lost to Ishiba in the September leadership race in a run-off vote. Takaichi previously served as Japan's economic security minister, internal affairs minister and the LDP's policy council chief.</p><p>She is known for her conservative views, such as revising the pacifist constitution, and is a regular visitor to the Yasukuni war shrine, viewed by some Asian neighbours as a symbol of past militarism.</p><p>She also opposes allowing women to retain their maiden names, saying it would undermine tradition.</p><p>Takaichi courted controversy in 2016 when she suggested the government could revoke broadcasting licences of media companies deemed to be politically biased.</p>.<p>Shinjiro Koizumi, 44:</p><p>The son of a former prime minister and heir to a political dynasty with a hand in governing Japan for more than a century, he would become its youngest prime minister in eight decades if he succeeded Ishiba.</p><p>Koizumi also ran in the last party leadership race, presenting himself as a reformer able to restore public trust in a party mired in scandal.</p><p>Unlike Takaichi, who left government after her defeat in that contest, the Columbia University-educated Koizumi stayed close to Ishiba as his agriculture minister, overseeing the release of rice stockpiles in a bid to curb soaring prices of the staple.</p><p>Toshimitsu Motegi, 69:</p><p>A former foreign minister, Motegi has a reputation as a tough negotiator and handled talks with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer when President Donald Trump was last in office.</p><p>He has also served as trade minister, economy minister and the party's secretary general.</p><p>He studied at the Harvard Kennedy School and worked at the Yomiuri newspaper and consulting firm McKinsey before entering politics in 1993.</p><p>Other potential candidates include Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi, 64, and Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato, 69. </p>