Japan is planning to hold a parliamentary session on September 17 to elect the country's new prime minister following the resignation of Shinzo Abe, Kyodo news agency reported on Sunday.

Also according to Kyodo, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) is now making final arrangements to hold its presidential election on September 14. The LDP president is virtually assured of being prime minister because of the party's majority in the lower house of parliament.

Selection process came after Abe, Japan's longest-serving prime minister as well as the leader of the LDP, said on Friday he was stepping down due to the worsening of a chronic illness.

Read more:

Japanese PM Abe announces resignation over worsening health

In The Spotlight: The departure of Shinzo Abe

Kyodo reported earlier on Sunday that Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga intends to run in the LDP leadership race to succeed Abe, an LDP source with knowledge of the situation was quoted as saying.

According to the source, Suga may publicly announce his intention to run in the election on Tuesday, while the LDP is making final arrangements to kick off the race for the top job on September 8.

Suga, a longtime lieutenant of Abe, is considered a strong contender to succeed him as prime minister, an outcome that would extend the fiscal and monetary stimulus that defined Abe's nearly eight years in office. 

Chosen by Abe in 2012 for the pivotal role of chief cabinet secretary, Suga has been acting as top government spokesman, coordinating policies and riding herd on bureaucrats.

Apart from Suga, Fumio Kishida, LDP policy chief and a former foreign minister, and Shigeru Ishiba, a former defense minister, have also indicated their desire to run to join the race for leader of the ruling party and prime minister.

(Cover: A general view of the parliament building in Tokyo, Japan, February 29, 2016. /Reuters.)