2018 Liberal Democratic Party (Japan) Presidential Election
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A presidential election was held on 20 September 2018 to elect the next president of the
Liberal Democratic Party of Japan The , frequently abbreviated to LDP, the Lib Dems, or , is a major conservativeThe Liberal Democratic Party is widely described as conservative: * * * * * and Japanese nationalism, nationalistSources describing the LDP as nationalist: * ...
for a new 3-year term. Incumbent president
Shinzo Abe Shinzo Abe (21 September 1954 – 8 July 2022) was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party (Liberal Democratic Party (Japan), LDP) from 2006 to 2007 and again from 2012 to 2020. ...
was running for re-election after a rule change in 2017 that allowed him to run for a third term. Abe's subsequent victory 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 was a Japanese politician who served as prime minister of Japan from 1964 to 1972. He is the third longest-serving Japanese prime minister, and is ranked second by longest uninterrupted service. Satō is best remembered for securing the return ...
'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 is a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan from 2008 to 2009. A member of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), he also served as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance from 2012 to 2021. He was the longest-serving De ...
at its head) had falsified documents presented to the parliament in relation to the Moritomo Gakuen scandal, to remove 14 passages implicating Abe. It has been suggested that the scandal could cost Abe his seat as the Liberal Democratic Party's leader. A Kyodo poll showed the Japanese government popularity's has fallen as low as 30% from 44% in February.


Candidates


Nominated


Supporters


Expressed intention but did not have enough supporters for nomination

* Seiko Noda, then-
Interior Minister An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a Cabinet (government), cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and iden ...
. File:Seiko Noda 200809.jpg,


Speculative

* Tarō Kōno, current
Foreign Minister In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...
. Son of
Yōhei Kōno is a Japanese politician and a former President of the Liberal Democratic Party. He served as Speaker of the House of Representatives from November 2003 until August 2009, when the LDP lost its majority in the 2009 election. Kōno served as sp ...
, a former Speaker of the House of Representatives. *
Tarō Asō is a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan from 2008 to 2009. A member of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), he also served as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance from 2012 to 2021. He was the longest-serving De ...
, current
Finance Minister A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfoli ...
and former
Prime Minister of Japan The is the head of government of Japan. The prime minister chairs the Cabinet of Japan and has the ability to select and dismiss its ministers of state. The prime minister also serves as the commander-in-chief of the Japan Self-Defense Force ...
. Grandson of former Prime Minister
Shigeru Yoshida was a Japanese diplomat and politician who served as prime minister of Japan from 1946 to 1947 and again from 1948 to 1954, serving through most of the country's occupation after World War II. Yoshida played a major role in determining the cour ...
. * Shinjiro Koizumi, First Vice Secretary-General of the LDP and son of former Prime Minister
Junichiro Koizumi Junichiro Koizumi ( ; , ''Koizumi Jun'ichirō'' ; born 8 January 1942) is a Japanese retired politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party (Japan), president of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) ...
. File:Tarō Kōno 20110307.jpg, File:Tarō Asō 20170920.jpg, File:Shinjirō Koizumi 20091130.jpg,


Declined

* Fumio Kishida, current chair of the LDP Policy Research Council and former
Foreign Minister In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...
in the
Second The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of U ...
and Third Abe Cabinet. File:Fumio Kishida 20160202 (cropped).jpg,


Results


References

2018 elections in Japan Political party leadership elections in Japan Liberal Democratic Party (Japan) Indirect elections Liberal Democratic Party (Japan) leadership election Long stubs with short prose {{Japan-election-stub