Ishiba’s situation increasingly desperate as party vote nears

There are growing signs that the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) is poised to vote on 8 September in favor of an early leadership election.
With few lawmakers rallying to his side, Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru is running out of options; his threat to call a snap election looks increasingly empty.
The question is whether Ishiba decides to contest the leadership vote or whether he takes it as a rebuke and bows out, perhaps even before Monday if the likely outcome looks lopsided.