2018 Liberal Democratic Party (Japan) presidential election

2018 Liberal Democratic Party presidential election
	Election results
President before election; Shinzo Abe;	Elected President ; Shinzo Abe;

A presidential election was held on 20 September 2018 to elect the next president of the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan for a new 3-year term. Incumbent president Shinzo Abe was running for re-election after a rule change in 2017 that allowed him to run for a third term.^[1]

Abe's subsequent victory^[2] led to him staying as prime minister for just under two years. In this time, on 22 November 2019, he broke the record for the nation's longest-serving prime ministership previously held by Taro Katsura, who had served three times between 1901 and 1913. He also served the longest uninterrupted term by 24 August 2020, ahead of Eisaku Satō's 2,797 days, before resigning four days later.

Background

Scandals

In March 2018, it was revealed that the Finance Ministry (with finance minister Tarō Asō at its head) had falsified documents presented to the parliament in relation to the Moritomo Gakuen scandal, to remove 14 passages implicating Abe.^[3] It has been suggested that the scandal could cost Abe his seat as the Liberal Democratic Party's leader.^[3] A Kyodo poll showed the Japanese government popularity's has fallen as low as 30% from 44% in February.^[4]

Candidates

Nominated

Candidate(s)		Date of birth	Notable positions	Party faction(s)	District(s)	Announced	Reference(s)
Shinzo Abe		(1954-09-21)21 September 1954 (age 63)	President of the LDP (2006-2007, since 2012) Prime Minister (2006–2007, since 2012) Member of the House of Representatives (since 1993) Chief Cabinet Secretary (2005–2006)	None	Yamaguchi 4th	26 August	^[5]
Shigeru Ishiba		(1957-02-04)4 February 1957 (age 61)	Member of the House of Representatives (since 1986) Defense Minister (2007–2008) 2008, 2012 LDP leadership candidate	Suigetsukai (Ishiba)	Tottori 1st	1 September	^[6]^[7]

Supporters

List of Supporters
Candidates	Shinzo Abe^[8]	Shigeru Ishiba^[9]
Leader of Supporters	Seiko Hashimoto	Hidehisa Otsuji
Campaign Manager	Akira Amari	Yoshihisa Furukawa
Supporters	Hirotaka Ishihara Seishiro Eto Toshiaki Endo Toshitaka Ōoka Tetsushi Sakamoto Katsuei Hirasawa Noriko Horiuchi Mitsuhiro Miyakoshi Hiromichi Watanabe Shigeharu Aoyama Haruko Arimura Masahisa Sato Emiko Takashina Yoshifumi Tsuge Ichiro Tsukada Takashi Hanyuda Toru Miki Toshiei Mizuochi	Junichi Ishii Yoshifumi Matsumura Kazuhiko Aoki Saburo Shimada Shoji Maitate Satoshi Nakanishi Seiichiro Murakami Gen Nakatani Kisaburo Tokai Keiichiro Tachibana Tatsuya Ito Norihisa Tamura Ryosei Akazawa Masaaki Taira Mamoru Fukuyama Yoshinori Tadokoro Saichi Kamiyama Hiroyuki Togashi

Expressed intention but did not have enough supporters for nomination

Seiko Noda, then-Interior Minister.^[10]^[11]^[12]

Interior Minister
Seiko Noda
(2017–2018)

Speculative

Tarō Kōno, current Foreign Minister.^[13]^[14] Son of Yōhei Kōno, a former Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Tarō Asō, current Finance Minister and former Prime Minister of Japan.^[15] Grandson of former Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida.
Shinjiro Koizumi, First Vice Secretary-General of the LDP and son of former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.^[16]

Foreign Minister
Tarō Kōno
(2017–2019)
Finance Minister
Tarō Asō
(2012–2021)
First Vice Secretary-General of the LDP
Shinjirō Koizumi
(2017–present)

Declined

Fumio Kishida, current chair of the LDP Policy Research Council and former Foreign Minister in the Second and Third Abe Cabinet.^[11]^[17]^[18]

Foreign Minister
Fumio Kishida
(2012–2017)

Results

Full result
Candidate	MPs		Party members			Total
Candidate	Votes	%	Popular votes	Allocated votes	%	Votes	%
Shinzo Abe 当	329	81.84%	355,487	224	55.31%	553	68.53%
Shigeru Ishiba	73	18.16%	286,003	181	44.69%	254	31.47%
Total	402	100.00%	641,490	405	100.00%	807	100.00%

References

^ "Abe could become Japan's longest serving premier". Al Jazeera. 6 March 2017. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
^ "Japan's Shinzo Abe wins ruling party leadership vote". Al Jazeera. 20 September 2018. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
^ ^a ^b Harding, Robin (12 March 2018). "Japan fake document scandal shakes Abe government". Financial Times.
^ "Abe's popularity falls as document-altering scandal continues".
^ "Abe throws hat into LDP chief race; duel with Ishiba looms". Asahi Shimbun. 26 August 2018. Archived from the original on 26 August 2018. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
^ Ryall, Julian (24 May 2017). "Ambitious Shigeru Ishiba the man to watch as campaign to topple Shinzo Abe begins". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
^ "Ishiba to run for LDP president despite numbers in Abe's favor". Asahi Shimbun. 10 August 2018. Archived from the original on 11 August 2018. Retrieved 12 August 2018.
^ "安倍晋三プロフィール｜総裁選2018｜自由民主党". Retrieved 20 September 2018.
^ "石破茂プロフィール｜総裁選2018｜自由民主党". Retrieved 20 September 2018.
^ Jiji Press (4 August 2017). "Noda ready to take on Abe in LDP leadership election next year". Japan Times. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
^ ^a ^b "Abe to appoint Foreign Minister Kishida to head LDP Policy Research Council". Mainichi Shimbun. 4 August 2017. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
^ "野田聖子氏が総裁選立候補せず、安倍首相を支持意向". Nikkan Sports (in Japanese). 26 August 2018. Archived from the original on 27 August 2018. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
^ Rich, Motoko (17 February 2018). "In Japan, a Liberal Maverick Is Seeking to Lead a Conservative Party". The New York Times. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
^ Reynolds, Isabel; Watanabe, Chisaki (17 January 2018). "Taro Kono's clean energy critique in UAE speech fuels Abe succession talk". Japan Times. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
^ Bossack, Michael MacArthur (5 August 2017). "Abe's Cabinet Reshuffle, Explained". The Diplomat. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
^ Fahey, Rob (22 March 2018). "Who Will Lead Japan after September?". Tokyo Review. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
^ Jiji Press (29 May 2017). "Kishida eyes prime ministership as LDP's Kochi Kai faction celebrates 60th anniversary". Japan Times. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
^ Konno, Shinobu (25 July 2018). "Kishida decides against running in LDP election, will support Abe". Asahi Shimbun. Archived from the original on 12 August 2018. Retrieved 12 August 2018.

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[1] "Abe could become Japan's longest serving premier". Al Jazeera. 6 March 2017. Retrieved 20 December 2017.

[2] "Japan's Shinzo Abe wins ruling party leadership vote". Al Jazeera. 20 September 2018. Retrieved 10 May 2024.

[financialtimes-3] Harding, Robin (12 March 2018). "Japan fake document scandal shakes Abe government". Financial Times.

[4] "Abe's popularity falls as document-altering scandal continues".

[5] "Abe throws hat into LDP chief race; duel with Ishiba looms". Asahi Shimbun. 26 August 2018. Archived from the original on 26 August 2018. Retrieved 27 August 2018.

[6] Ryall, Julian (24 May 2017). "Ambitious Shigeru Ishiba the man to watch as campaign to topple Shinzo Abe begins". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 20 December 2017.

[7] "Ishiba to run for LDP president despite numbers in Abe's favor". Asahi Shimbun. 10 August 2018. Archived from the original on 11 August 2018. Retrieved 12 August 2018.

[8] "安倍晋三プロフィール｜総裁選2018｜自由民主党". Retrieved 20 September 2018.

[9] "石破茂プロフィール｜総裁選2018｜自由民主党". Retrieved 20 September 2018.

[10] Jiji Press (4 August 2017). "Noda ready to take on Abe in LDP leadership election next year". Japan Times. Retrieved 20 December 2017.

[mainichi-11] "Abe to appoint Foreign Minister Kishida to head LDP Policy Research Council". Mainichi Shimbun. 4 August 2017. Retrieved 20 December 2017.

[12] "野田聖子氏が総裁選立候補せず、安倍首相を支持意向". Nikkan Sports (in Japanese). 26 August 2018. Archived from the original on 27 August 2018. Retrieved 27 August 2018.

[13] Rich, Motoko (17 February 2018). "In Japan, a Liberal Maverick Is Seeking to Lead a Conservative Party". The New York Times. Retrieved 18 February 2018.

[14] Reynolds, Isabel; Watanabe, Chisaki (17 January 2018). "Taro Kono's clean energy critique in UAE speech fuels Abe succession talk". Japan Times. Retrieved 18 January 2018.

[15] Bossack, Michael MacArthur (5 August 2017). "Abe's Cabinet Reshuffle, Explained". The Diplomat. Retrieved 20 December 2017.

[16] Fahey, Rob (22 March 2018). "Who Will Lead Japan after September?". Tokyo Review. Retrieved 22 March 2018.

[17] Jiji Press (29 May 2017). "Kishida eyes prime ministership as LDP's Kochi Kai faction celebrates 60th anniversary". Japan Times. Retrieved 20 December 2017.

[18] Konno, Shinobu (25 July 2018). "Kishida decides against running in LDP election, will support Abe". Asahi Shimbun. Archived from the original on 12 August 2018. Retrieved 12 August 2018.

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v t e Liberal Democratic Party of Japan
Leaders	Hatoyama Ishibashi Kishi Ikeda Satō Tanaka Miki T. Fukuda Ōhira Nishimura Suzuki Nakasone Takeshita Uno Kaifu Miyazawa Kōno Hashimoto Obuchi Mori Koizumi Abe Y. Fukuda Asō Tanigaki Abe Suga Kishida Ishiba
Leadership elections	Apr 1956 Dec 1956 1957 1959 1960 1962 Jul 1964 Nov 1964 1966 1968 1970 1972 1974 1976 1978 1980 1982 1987 Jun 1989 Aug 1989 1991 1993 1995 1998 1999 2000 [ja] 2001 [ja] 2003 [ja] 2006 2007 2008 2009 2012 2015 2018 2020 2021 2024
Factions	Heisei Kenkyūkai Kōchikai Seiwa Seisaku Kenkyūkai Shikōkai Shisuikai
Preceding parties	Liberal Party Japan Democratic Party
Absorbed parties	Okinawa Liberal Democratic Party [ja] (1970) New Liberal Club (1986) New Conservative Party (2003) Party for Japanese Kokoro (2018)
Split parties	New Liberal Club (1976) Japan New Party (1992) Japan Renewal Party (1993) New Party Sakigake (1993) People's New Party (2005) Your Party (2009) Sunrise Party (2010) New Renaissance Party (2010) Japan Restoration Party (2012)
Italics denote acting leader.