President of the Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)

The is the highest position and executive authority within Japan's Liberal Democratic Party. The current holder of the position is Sanae Takaichi, who was elected to the position on 4 October 2025, following her victory in the party's presidential election. She has served as Prime Minister of Japan and is the first woman to hold either of these roles.

Due to the dominance of the LDP in Japanese politics, twenty-six of the twenty-eight presidents (all except Yōhei Kōno and Sadakazu Tanigaki) have also been the prime minister.

Elections To be a candidate for the president, one must be an LDP member of the National Diet and must receive at least 20 nominations from other LDP members of the National Diet. The LDP selects its leader via a two-round election involving both LDP members of the Diet and dues-paying party members from across Japan. In the first round, all LDP members of the Diet cast one vote while party member votes are translated proportionally into votes equaling the other half of the total ballots. If any candidate wins a majority (over 50%) of votes in the first round, that candidate is elected president.

If no candidate receives a majority of votes in the first round, a runoff is held immediately between the top two candidates. In the runoff, all Diet members vote again while the 47 prefectural chapters of the LDP get one vote each, with the result of the latter votes determined using the first round results of party members in each prefecture. The candidate who wins the most votes in the runoff is then elected president.

The party's secretary-general can decide to organise the election with the rule of the second round only.

Term limits According to Article 81 of the LDP Constitution, the president's term of office is three years, renewable twice consecutively. Limits have fluctuated over the years since LDP's founding (The latest revision was made by Shinzo Abe): +PeriodTerm of officeTerm limits1955–19722 yearsUnlimited1972–19743 years1974–1978Renewable once1978–20032 years2003–20173 years2017–presentRenewable twice

Powers According to the LDP constitution, the president "shall assume supreme responsibility for the Party, and represent and oversee the Party". The president appoints the secretary-general, members of Finance Committee, and the director of the Forward Policy Study Unit, all with the approval of the General Council. The president also appoints the chairpersons of the Party Organization Headquarters, the Public Relations Headquarters, the Policy Research Council, the Election Strategy Council, and the Personnel Committee, as well as the director of the Forward Policy Study Unit, all with the approval of the General Council. The president can optionally appoint a vice president with the approval of the Party Convention.

The president convenes and presides over the work of the LDP Board, which includes other high-ranking members of the LDP. With the consent of the General Council, the president annually convenes the Party Convention. The president is ex officio the director-general of the Party's Election Strategy Headquarters, tasked with formulating the LDP's election strategies, and the chancellor of the Central Institute of Politics.

Presidents of the party No.PresidentPortraitFactionConstituency or titleTook officeLeft officeElection resultsGovernmentPartyPrime MinisterTermPreceding parties: Liberal Party (1950) and Democratic Party (1954)Interim Leadership Committee (1955–1956)—Ichirō Hatoyama - Rep for Tokyo 1st15 November 19555 April 1956NonehimselfBukichi MikiRep for Kagawa 1stHatoyama I.Banboku ŌnoRep for Gifu 1stTaketora OgataRep for Fukuoka 1st28 January 1956Tsuruhei MatsunoCou for Kumamoto10 February 19565 April 1956President (1956–present)1Ichirō HatoyamaRep for Tokyo 1st5 April 195614 December 1956himself2Tanzan IshibashiRep for Shizuoka 2nd14 December 195621 March 1957himself3Nobusuke KishiRep for Yamaguchi 1st21 March 195714 July 1960himself4Hayato IkedaKōchikaiRep for Hiroshima 2nd14 July 19601 December 1964himself5Eisaku Satōpre Takeshita Heisei KenkyūkaiRep for Yamaguchi 2nd1 December 19645 July 1972himself6Kakuei Tanakapre Takeshita Heisei KenkyūkaiRep for Niigata 3rd5 July 19724 December 1974himself7Takeo MikiBanchō Seisaku KenkyūjoRep for Tokushima at-large4 December 197423 December 1976himself8Takeo FukudaRep for Gunma 3rd23 December 19761 December 1978himself9Masayoshi Ōhira KōchikaiRep for Kagawa 2nd1 December 197812 June 1980himself—Eiichi NishimuraRep for Ōita 2nd12 June 198015 July 1980Acting(Ito M.)10Zenkō Suzuki KōchikaiRep for Iwate 1st15 July 198025 November 1982himself11Yasuhiro NakasoneSeisaku Kagaku KenkyūjoRep for Gunma 3rd25 November 198231 October 1987himself12Noboru Takeshita Heisei KenkyūkaiRep for Shimane at-large31 October 19872 June 1989himself13Sōsuke Unoallied with the Seisaku Kagaku KenkyūjoRep for Shiga at-large2 June 19898 August 1989himself14Toshiki KaifuRep for Aichi 3rd8 August 198930 October 1991himself15Kiichi MiyazawaKōchikaiRep for Hiroshima 3rd31 October 199129 July 1993himself16Yōhei KōnoKōchikaiRep for Kanagawa 5th29 July 19931 October 1995HosokawaHataMurayama(coalition)17Ryutaro Hashimoto Heisei KenkyūkaiRep for Okayama 4th1 October 199524 July 1998himself18Keizō Obuchi Heisei KenkyūkaiRep for Gunma 5th24 July 19985 April 2000himself19Yoshirō Mori Seiwa Seisaku KenkyūkaiRep for Ishikawa 2nd5 April 200024 April 2001himself20Junichiro Koizumi Seiwa Seisaku KenkyūkaiRep for Kanagawa 11th24 April 200120 September 2006himself21Shinzo Abe Seiwa Seisaku KenkyūkaiRep for Yamaguchi 4th20 September 200623 September 2007himself22Yasuo FukudaRep for Gunma 4th23 September 200722 September 2008himself23Tarō AsōKōchikaiRep for Fukuoka 8th22 September 200828 September 2009himself24Sadakazu TanigakiKōchikaiRep for Kyoto 5th28 September 200926 September 2012Hatoyama Y.KanNoda25Shinzo AbeSeiwa Seisaku KenkyūkaiRep for Yamaguchi 4th26 September 201214 September 2020himself26Yoshihide SugaRep for Kanagawa 2nd14 September 202029 September 2021himself27Fumio KishidaKōchikaiRep for Hiroshima 1st29 September 202127 September 2024himself28Shigeru IshibaRep for Tottori 1st27 September 20244 October 2025himself29Sanae Takaichi(Seiwa Seisaku Kenkyūkai)Rep for Nara 2nd4 October 2025Incumbentherself

Presidential elections Bold indicates the winners. +Date1st2nd3rd4th5th6th7th8th9thSince the leadership election before 1972 is not a candidacy system, votes for members who did not campaign are also calculated as valid votes.5 April 1956Ichirō HatoyamaNobusuke KishiJōji HayashiTanzan IshibashiMitsujirō IshiiShūji MasutaniBanboku ŌnoIchirō KōnoMamoru ShigemitsuTsuruhei MatsunoHayato Ikeda5394432114 December 1956First roundNobusuke KishiTanzan IshibashiMitsujirō Ishii0223151137RunoffTanzan IshibashiNobusuke Kishi025825121 March 1957Nobusuke KishiKenzō MatsumuraMitsujirō IshiiTokutarō Kitamura04712114 January 1959Nobusuke KishiKenzō MatsumuraBanboku ŌnoShigeru YoshidaMitsujirō IshiiShūji MasutaniEisaku Satō0320166114 July 1960First roundHayato IkedaMitsujirō IshiiAiichirō FujiyamaKenzō MatsumuraBanboku Ōno02461964951RunoffHayato IkedaMitsujirō Ishii030219414 July 1962Hayato IkedaEisaku SatōHisato IchimadaNobusuke KishiAiichirō FujiyamaShigeru YoshidaTakeo FukudaHitoshi TakahashiMatsutarō Shōriki0391176532110 July 1964Hayato IkedaEisaku SatōAiichirō FujiyamaHirokichi Nadao02421607211 December 1964Eisaku SatōOne candidate (elected by Ikeda)1 December 1966Eisaku SatōAiichirō FujiyamaShigesaburō MaeoHirokichi NadaoUichi NodaZentarō KosakaNobusuke KishiKenzō MatsumuraIsamu Murakami028989471192127 November 1968Eisaku SatōTakeo MikiShigesaburō MaeoAiichirō Fujiyama024910795129 October 1970Eisaku SatōTakeo MikiSaburō ChibaAiichirō FujiyamaTokuma Utsunomiya035311115 July 1972First roundKakuei TanakaTakeo FukudaMasayoshi ŌhiraTakeo Miki715615010169RunoffKakuei TanakaTakeo Fukuda02821904 December 1974Takeo MikiOne candidate (elected by Vice-President Etsusaburō Shiina)23 December 1976Takeo FukudaOne candidate (elected by discussion at the general meeting of LDP National Diet members of both houses)26 November 1978Primaries Primary election by general party members. With a point system in which 1000 votes are calculated as 1 point and distributed proportionally to the top two candidates, the two candidates in the primary election will advance to runoff by members of the National Diet.Masayoshi ŌhiraTakeo FukudaYasuhiro NakasoneToshio Kōmoto0748 pts638 pts93 pts46 ptsRunoffMasayoshi Ōhira2nd candidate withdrew15 July 1980Zenkō SuzukiOne candidate (elected by Vice-President Eiichi Nishimura)27 November 1980Zenkō SuzukiOne candidate (re-elected without voting in the leadership election due to the expiration of the term of office of Suzuki)24 November 1982Primaries Primary election by general party members. With a total vote system, the top three candidates will advance to runoff.Yasuhiro NakasoneToshio KōmotoShintaro AbeIchiro Nakagawa05596732650788044366041RunoffYasuhiro Nakasone2nd and below candidates withdrew30 October 1984Yasuhiro NakasoneOne candidate (re-elected without voting in the leadership election due to the expiration of the term of office of Nakasone)11 September 1986Yasuhiro NakasoneExtension of term of office by one year (Unanimously re-elected Nakasone's term of office at the general meeting of LDP National Diet members of both houses)31 October 1987Noboru TakeshitaOne candidate (elected by Nakasone)2 June 1989Sōsuke UnoOne candidate (elected by Takeshita)8 August 1989Toshiki KaifuYoshiro HayashiShintaro Ishihara02791204831 October 1989Toshiki KaifuOne candidate (re-elected without voting in the leadership election due to the expiration of the term of office of Kaifu)27 October 1991Kiichi MiyazawaMichio WatanabeHiroshi Mitsuzuka02851208730 July 1993Yōhei KōnoMichio Watanabe020815930 September 1993Yōhei KōnoOne candidate (re-elected without voting in the leadership election due to the expiration of the term of office of Kōno)22 September 1995Ryutaro HashimotoJunichiro Koizumi03048711 September 1997Ryutaro HashimotoOne candidate (re-elected without voting in the leadership election due to the expiration of the term of office of Hashimoto)24 July 1998 Keizō ObuchiSeiroku KajiyamaJunichiro Koizumi02251028421 September 1999 (Detail)Keizō ObuchiKoichi KatoTaku Yamasaki0350113515 April 2000 (Detail)Yoshirō MoriOne candidate (elected by discussion at the general meeting of LDP National Diet members of both houses)24 April 2001 (Detail)Junichiro KoizumiRyutaro HashimotoTarō Asō(Shizuka Kamei withdrew after the ballot counting)32981553110 August 2001 (Detail)Junichiro KoizumiOne candidate (re-elected without voting in the leadership election due to the expiration of the term of office of Koizumi)20 September 2003 (Detail)Junichiro KoizumiShizuka KameiTakao FujiiMasahiko Kōmura0399139655420 September 2006 (Detail)Shinzo AbeTarō AsōSadakazu Tanigaki146413610223 September 2007 (Detail)Yasuo FukudaTarō Asō133019722 September 2008 (Detail)Tarō AsōKaoru YosanoYuriko KoikeNobuteru IshiharaShigeru Ishiba23516646372528 September 2009 (Detail)Sadakazu TanigakiTaro KonoYasutoshi Nishimura130014454 26 September 2012 (Detail)First roundShigeru IshibaShinzo AbeNobuteru IshiharaNobutaka MachimuraYoshimasa Hayashi1199141963427RunoffShinzo AbeShigeru Ishiba1108898 September 2015 (Detail)Shinzo AbeOne candidate