The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) of Japan held a meeting of its Presidential Election Management Committee on the 9th and decided to hold the presidential election on October 4.
If the LDP president resigns before the end of their term, the new presidential election is usually conducted using a “simplified” procedure that does not include voting by party members and supporters. However, in light of the current decline in the LDP's approval ratings, senior party officials believe broader voices should be reflected, so this election will use a “member participation format,” allowing ordinary local party members and registered supporters to vote.
According to this arrangement, there will be a total of 590 votes in this presidential election: 295 LDP Diet members, each with one vote, and the votes from local party members and “supporters” (registered backers), converted proportionally to 295 votes. Whoever gets more than half the votes in the first round will be elected; if no one gets a majority, the top two candidates will enter a second-round vote.
Former LDP Secretary-General Toshimitsu Motegi officially announced his candidacy on the 8th. According to Japanese media reports, current Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi and former Economic Security Minister Sanae Takaichi have also confirmed their intentions to run. Japanese public opinion widely predicts that Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Shinjiro Koizumi and former Economic Security Minister Takayuki Kobayashi may also join the race.
Former LDP Secretary-General Toshimitsu Motegi officially announced his candidacy on the 8th. According to Japanese media reports, current Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi and former Economic Security Minister Sanae Takaichi have also confirmed their intentions to run. Japanese public opinion widely predicts that Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Shinjiro Koizumi and former Economic Security Minister Takayuki Kobayashi may also join the race.
The LDP suffered consecutive defeats in last October's House of Representatives election and this July's House of Councillors election. The ruling coalition of the LDP and Komeito lost its majority in both houses. This is the first time since its founding in 1955 that the LDP has failed to secure a majority in both houses of the Diet. Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba held a press conference on the 7th, announcing his decision to resign as LDP president.