TOKYO — Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) officially announced the start of its two-week presidential race on Thursday to pick the largest political party’s next leader to succeed Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. Voting and ballot counting are slated for Sept. 27.

The winner of the election will be appointed Japan’s 102nd prime minister at the Diet, where the party holds the most seats in both the upper and lower houses. The next session of parliament is expected to convene in early October.