Ishiba to be Japan's next prime minister

The former defense minister won the race to lead Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and is all but assured to become prime minister after Fumio Kishida's said he would not stand for re-election.

Japan's former defense minister Shigeru Ishiba won the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) leadership election on Friday and would likely become Japan's next prime minister. 

In a head-to-head vote, the veteran politician defeated Sanae Takaichi, a rare prominent woman in Japanese politics. 

The vote comes after Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's announcement in August that he would not stand for re-election.

The LDP, which has ruled Japan for almost all of the post-war era, has a majority in parliament and thus picks the prime ministers.

This is a developing story, more to follow.