Japan LDP execs agree on simplified format to pick next PM-Nikai

Executives of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party agreed on Tuesday to hold its leadership race in a slimmed-down format to choose the successor of outgoing Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Secretary-General Toshihiro Nikai said.

A formal decision will be made at the party's general council gathering later in the day, he added.

"We must elect a new leader as soon as possible to avoid creating a political vacuum," Nikai told reporters. "There was no objection to my view at the meeting."