The September 2002 Democratic Party of Japan leadership election was held on 23 September 2002 in accordance with the end of the presidential term which had commenced in 2000. Incumbent president Yukio Hatoyama was narrowly re-elected in a four-way race. In the runoff ballot between Hatoyama and fellow party co-founder Naoto Kan, the latter had a slight lead among the party's Diet members and candidates, but Hatoyama's large margin among prefectural representatives delivered him victory.

Electoral system Candidates were required to gather endorsements from twenty (maximum 25) of the party's members of the National Diet in order to stand.

The election was conducted via a points system: Each of the party's members of the National Diet had a vote worth two points. (366 points total) Registered party members or supporters could vote via mail if they had been registered by 30 August. Points for this tier were distributed between the 47 prefectures, and awarded to candidates in proportion to votes won in each prefecture. (320 points total) Each of the party's approved candidates for future Diet elections had a vote worth one point. (83 points total) Each of the party's members of local councils or prefectural assemblies could vote via mail. Points for this tier were awarded to candidates in proportion to votes won. (47 points total)

In order to win, a candidate must secure more than 50% of points. If no candidate won more than 50%, a runoff was to be held the same day.

In the event of a runoff: Each of the party's members of the National Diet had a vote worth two points. (366 points total) Each of the party's approved candidates for future Diet elections had a vote worth one point. (83 points total) A representative from each of the party's prefectural branches had a vote worth one point. (47 points total)

Candidates Candidate Offices held Yukio Hatoyama Member of the House of Representatives (1986–)President of the Democratic Party of Japan (1996–97, 1999–) Naoto Kan Member of the House of Representatives (1980–)President of the Democratic Party of Japan (1996–99)Minister of Health and Welfare (1996) Yoshihiko Noda Member of the House of Representatives (1993–96, 2000–) Takahiro Yokomichi Member of the House of Representatives (1969–83, 1996–)Governor of Hokkaido (1983–95)

Sponsors Yukio Hatoyama (24) Naoto Kan (19) Yoshihiko Noda (24) Takahiro Yokomichi (24) House of RepresentativesHouse of Councillors House of RepresentativesHouse of Councillors House of RepresentativesHouse of Councillors House of RepresentativesHouse of Councillors

Withdrew Seiji Maehara, member of the House of Representatives (1993–) – (endorsed Noda) Shigefumi Matsuzawa, member of the House of Representatives (1993–) – (endorsed Noda) Takashi Kawamura, member of the House of Representatives (1993–) – (endorsed Kan) Kansei Nakano, member of the House of Representatives (1976–) – (endorsed Hatoyama)

Contest Up to nine candidates were reported to be considering running amidst criticism of Hatoyama, who they viewed as lacking the leadership ability to challenge the LDP. A notable embarrassment came in November 2001, when 22 Diet members including vice-president Takahiro Yokomichi defied the party line and voted against authorising JMSDF support missions in the Indian Ocean. Hatoyama placed emphasis on party unity, while Naoto Kan pitched himself as more capable of defeating the LDP in the next elections.

Hatoyama announced his intention to seek re-election on 8 August. He stated that he would assert himself more strongly as leader if re-elected, and that he would distance himself from secretary-general Kan. Kan officially declared his candidacy on the 20th. He criticised Hatoyama as lacking in the persuasion and debate skills necessary to appeal to voters. Both campaigned on an anti-LDP and anti-bureaucracy platform.

The race exposed enduring factional divides within the party. Yokomichi, who rebelled against the party line in November, ran for leader as he had in the September 1999 race. He was considered the leader of the party's left wing, consisting of former members of the Japan Socialist Party. Party vice-president Kansei Nakano declared his candidacy with the support of the ex-Democratic Socialist Party faction. However, he withdrew shortly before nominations and switched his support to Hatoyama.

A number of junior lawmakers, organised in the "Group to Create the Second Era of the DPJ," sought leadership renewal. Four members of the group – Seiji Maehara, Yoshihiko Noda, Takashi Kawamura, and Shigefumi Matsuzawa – each declared their candidacy. Hatoyama stated that he would resign from the Diet if any of them won the leadership. All four agreed that they should unify their bids, but could not agree on who should run. At a meeting on 21 August, Matsuzawa suggested they take a vote, but Maehara and Kawamura preferred a public poll. The meeting failed and all four pledged to continue their campaigns. The situation was further complicated since both Noda and Maehara were confident they have secured enough support to stand on their own. After it became clear that Matsuzawa dropped out on the 23rd and endorsed Noda in an effort to unify the camp. A week later, Kawamura withdrew due to lack of support. He ultimately switched his support to Kan. Maehara and Noda then agreed to settle the dispute by combining the results of opinion polling with a survey of the DPJ caucus. Maehara was more popular among the public, but this was outweighed by Noda's advantage among Diet members; Maehara duly withdrew on 3 September and endorsed Noda. Noda believed that Article 9 should be amended but conceded that the public were not ready to support it.

A Kyodo News poll from August showed that Kan was the most popular candidate among the public, with 31.3% support. He was followed by Hatoyama with 13.4%, Yokomichi with 6.1%, and Nakano on 3%; Maehara, Noda, Kawamura, and Matsuzawa each polled at 2.5% or less.

At the time of nominations on 10 September, The Japan Times reported that Hatoyama was the frontrunner with about 60 legislators in his camp.

Results First round Candidate Diet members Party members& supporters Diet candidates Local assemblymembers Total Votes % Points Votes % Points Votes % Points Votes % Points Yukio Hatoyama 63 34.4 126 56,417 35.8 126 25 30.1 25 499 36.0 17 294 Naoto Kan 45 24.6 90 41,167 26.1 94 22 26.5 22 455 32.8 15 221 Yoshihiko Noda 44 24.0 88 33,012 21.0 67 22 26.5 22 143 10.3 5 182 Takahiro Yokomichi 31 16.9 62 26,846 17.1 33 14 16.9 14 291 21.0 10 119 Total 183 100.0 366 157,442 100.0 320 83 100.0 83 1,388 100.0 47 816 Invalid 0 1,156 0 6 Turnout 183 100.0 158,598 51.3 83 100.0 1,388 87.9 Eligible 183 309,003 83 1,586 Source: DPJ Archive

Runoff Candidate Diet members Diet candidates Prefecturalrepresentatives Total Votes % Points Votes % Points Votes % Points Yukio Hatoyama 91 49.7 182 41 49.4 41 31 66.0 31 254 Naoto Kan 92 50.3 184 42 50.6 42 16 34.0 16 242 Total 183 100.0 366 83 100.0 83 47 100.0 47 496 Invalid 0 0 0 Turnout 183 100.0 83 100.0 47 100.0 Eligible 183 83 47 Source: DPJ Archive

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