A vote to determine Japan's likely next prime minister is heading to a runoff, with the ruling party picking between its first female leader and the youngest of the modern era.

The Liberal Democratic Party will select either hardline nationalist Sanae Takaichi, 64, or the telegenic political scion Shinjiro Koizumi, 44, to regain trust from a public angered by rising prices and drawn to opposition groups promising big stimulus and clampdowns on foreigners.

A vote in parliament to choose a prime minister to replace Shigeru Ishiba is expected to be held on October 15.

The new LDP president is likely to succeed Ishiba as leader of the world's fourth-biggest economy because the party, which has governed Japan for almost all the postwar period, is the biggest in parliament. But this is not as

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