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 his 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'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. 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 Candidate(s) Date of birth Notable positions Party faction(s) District(s) AnnouncedReference(s) Shinzo Abe President of the LDP Prime Minister Member of the House of Representatives Chief Cabinet Secretary Seiwa Seisaku Kenkyūkai(Hosoda) Yamaguchi 4th 26 August Shigeru Ishiba Member of the House of Representatives Defense Minister 2008, 2012 LDP leadership candidate Suigetsukai (Ishiba) Tottori 1st 1 September
Expressed intention but did not have enough supporters for nomination Seiko Noda, then-Interior Minister.
Speculative Tarō Kōno, current Foreign Minister. Son of Yōhei Kōno, a former Speaker of the House of Representatives. Tarō Asō, current Finance Minister and former Prime Minister of Japan. Grandson of former Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida. Shinjiro Koizumi, First Vice Secretary-General of the LDP and son of former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.
Declined Fumio Kishida, current chair of the LDP Policy Research Council and former Foreign Minister in the Second and Third Abe Cabinet.
Supporters Recommenders Party regulations require candidates to have the written support at least 20 Diet members, known as recommenders, to run.
Number of recommenders by factions CandidatesShinzo AbeShigeru IshibaHeisei Kenkyūkai25Kinmirai Seiji Kenkyūkai20Kōchikai30Seiwa Seisaku Kenkyūkai40Shikōkai30Shisuikai30Suigetsukai01111No faction23
Results + Full resultCandidateDiet membersParty membersTotal points Votes % Popular votes % Allocated votes % Votes %Shinzo Abe 32981.84%355,48755.42%22455.31%55368.53%Shigeru Ishiba7318.16%286,00344.58%18144.69%25431.47%Total402100.00%641,490100.00%405100.00%807100.00%Valid votes40299.26%641,49099.66%405100.00%80799.63%Invalid and blank votes30.74%2,1910.34%00.00%30.37%Turnout405100.00%643,68161.74%405100.00%810100.00%Registered voters405100.00%1,042,647100.00%405100.00%810100.00%
Results of Party Members' Votes by Prefectures + Results of Party Members' Votes by PrefecturesPrefecturesShinzo AbeShigeru IshibaVotes%Votes%Aichi14,61154.7%12,12245.3%Akita3,22953.2%2,84346.8%Aomori3,48058.0%2,51742.0%Chiba9,13152.6%8,23847.4%Ehime6,94555.4%5,58144.6%Fukui4,78663.2%2,79136.8%Fukuoka10,44264.0%5,88336.0%Fukushima5,20954.4%4,36845.6%Gifu10,95553.2%9,63046.8%Gunma6,80246.4%7,84753.6%Hiroshima15,09571.0%6,17129.0%Hokkaido11,71154.4%9,81945.6%Hyōgo8,19353.7%7,06346.3%Ibaraki9,92741.6%13,95158.4%Ishikawa9,16165.0%4,93635.0%Iwate2,56854.2%2,17045.8%Kagawa6,75258.5%4,78341.5%Kagoshima5,93857.0%4,47843.0%Kanagawa20,90161.0%13,37139.0%Kōchi1,49928.4%3,77871.6%Kumamoto6,14355.1%5,01144.9%Kyoto5,07357.1%3,80742.9%Mie3,43745.0%4,19455.0%Miyagi4,29956.6%3,30143.4%Miyazaki3,11241.5%4,38058.5%Nagano5,40650.1%5,39149.9%Nagasaki7,16760.4%4,70439.6%Nara3,33266.6%1,67433.4%Niigata8,88054.6%7,38445.4%Ōita5,76862.0%3,54238.0%Okayama7,06057.5%5,21842.5%Okinawa1,75361.7%1,08638.3%Osaka11,81360.8%7,62039.2%Saga3,34351.5%3,14948.5%Saitama12,17754.3%10,25745.7%Shiga4,05657.6%2,99142.4%Shimane2,25722.6%7,74877.4%Shizuoka9,41057.6%6,91642.4%Tochigi6,25755.0%5,12445.0%Tokushima2,92542.5%3,96357.5%Tokyo33,35158.0%24,11042.0%Tottori4215.0%7,93395.0%Toyama9,45246.9%10,68553.1%Wakayama8,69881.3%2,00318.7%Yamagata3,17241.9%4,40258.1%Yamaguchi12,48887.6%1,76012.4%Yamanashi6,90256.5%5,31043.5%Total355,48755.4%286,00344.6%
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