By Michael Macarthur Bosack,Web Master

Copyright japantimes

When members of the Liberal Democratic Party go to the ballot boxes to choose their new leader — and by extension likely the country’s next prime minister — there will be no shortage of options from which to choose.If they want a Harvard-educated political veteran who has served as foreign minister and LDP secretary-general, there is Toshimitsu Motegi. If they want a younger, popular man, they have farm minister Shinjiro Koizumi. If they want Japan’s first female prime minister and staunch conservative, they can vote for former economic security minister Sanae Takaichi. Or if they want a young rising star with solid policy chops, they can opt for Takayuki Kobayashi. With others still yet to announce their candidacies, there is certain to be a wide field.The problem for LDP members will not be the absence of choice. Rather, it is that none of their options have shown that they have what it takes to unify an increasingly fractured party. Older generations versus younger generations; conservatives versus centrists; LDP heavyweights versus other elites — there are myriad battles being waged within the party right now and they will play out over the next few weeks.