President of the Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)

The president of the Liberal Democratic Party (自由民主党総裁, Jiyū-Minshutō Sōsai) is the highest-ranking member within the Japanese conservative party, the Liberal Democratic Party.[1][2] Due to the dominance of the LDP in Japanese politics, all except two (Yohei Kono and Sadakazu Tanigaki) have also been the prime minister of Japan. The current holder of the position is Fumio Kishida, who was elected to the position on 29 September 2021.

President of the Liberal Democratic Party
自由民主党総裁
Incumbent
Fumio Kishida
since 29 September 2021
Liberal Democratic Party
TypeParty leader
Term lengthThree years,
renewable twice consecutively
Inaugural holderIchirō Hatoyama
Formation5 April 1956
DeputyVice President
Secretary-General

Elections

To be a candidate for the president, one must be a LDP member of the National Diet and must receive at least 20 nominations from other LDP members of the National Diet.[3] 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.[4] 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.[4] If any candidate wins a majority (over 50%) of votes in the first round, that candidate is elected President.[4]

If no candidate receives a majority of votes in the first round, a runoff is held immediately between the top two candidates.[4] 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.[4] The candidate who wins the most votes in the runoff is then elected President.[4]

The party's secretary-general can decide to organise the election with the rule of the second round only.[5]

Term limits

According to Article 81 of the LDP Constitution, the president's term of office is three years, renewable twice consecutively.[6] Limits have fluctuated over the years since LDP's founding:

Period Term of office Term limits
1955–1972 2 years Unlimited
1972–1974 3 years
1974–1978 Renewable once
1978–2003 2 years
2003–2017 3 years
2017– Renewable twice

Powers

According to the LDP constitution, the president "shall assume supreme responsibility for the Party, and represent and oversee the Party".[7] 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,[8] all with the approval of the General Council. The president can optionally appoint a vice president with the approval of the Party Convention.[7]

The president convenes and presides over the work of the LDP Board, which includes other high-ranking members of the LDP.[7] With the consent of the General Council, the president annually convenes the Party Convention.[9] The president is ex officio the director-general of the Party's Election Strategy Headquarters, tasked with formulating the LDP's election strategies,[10] and the chancellor of the Central Institute of Politics.[11]

Presidents of the party

No. President
(birth–death)
Portrait Constituency or title Took office Left office Election results Government
Party Prime Minister Term
Preceding parties: Democratic Party (1954) & Liberal Party (1950)
Interim Leadership Committee (1955–1956)
Ichirō Hatoyama
(1883–1959)
Rep for
Tokyo 1st
15 November 1955 5 April 1956 None LDP himself 1954–56
Bukichi Miki
(1884–1956)
Rep for

Kagawa 1st

LDP Hatoyama I. 1954–56
Banboku Ōno
(1890–1964)
Rep for

Gifu 1st

Taketora Ogata
(1888–1956)
Rep for

Fukuoka 1st

28 January 1956
Tsuruhei Matsuno
(1883–1962)
Cou for

Kumamoto

10 February 1956 5 April 1956
President (1956–present)
1 Ichirō Hatoyama
(1883–1959)
Rep for

Tokyo 1st

5 April 1956 14 December 1956
April 1956
Ichirō Hatoyama – 394
Nobusuke Kishi – 4
Others – 15
LDP himself 1954–56
2 Tanzan Ishibashi
(1884–1973)
Rep for

Shizuoka 2nd

14 December 1956 21 March 1957
December 1956 1st round
Nobusuke Kishi – 223
Tanzan Ishibashi – 151
Mitsujiro Ishii – 137
December 1956 2nd round
Tanzan Ishibashi – 258
Nobusuke Kishi – 251
LDP himself 1956–57
3 Nobusuke Kishi
(1896–1987)
Rep for

Yamaguchi 1st

21 March 1957 14 July 1960
1957
Nobusuke Kishi – 471
Kenzō Matsumura – 2
Tokutaro Kitamura – 1
Mitsujirō Ishii – 1
1959
Nobusuke Kishi – 320
Kenzō Matsumura – 166
Others – 5
LDP himself 1957–60
4 Hayato Ikeda
(1899–1965)
Rep for

Hiroshima 2nd

14 July 1960 1 December 1964
1960 1st Round
Hayato Ikeda – 246
Mitsujirō Ishii – 194
Aiichirō Fujiyama – 49
Others – 7
1960 2nd Round
Hayato Ikeda – 302
Mitsujirō Ishii – 194
1962
Hayato Ikeda – 391
Eisaku Satō – 17
Others – 20
July 1964
Hayato Ikeda – 242
Eisaku Satō – 160
Aiichirō Fujiyama – 72
Hirokichi Nadao – 1
LDP himself 1960–64
5 Eisaku Satō
(1901–1975)
Rep for

Yamaguchi 2nd

1 December 1964 5 July 1972
November 1964
Eisaku Satō – Green tickY
Aiichirō Fujiyama – Red XN
Ichirō Kōno – Red XN
1966
Eisaku Satō – 289
Aiichirō Fujiyama – 89
Shigesaburō Maeo – 47
Hirokichi Nadao – 11
Uichi Noda – 9
Others – 5
1968
Eisaku Satō – 249
Takeo Miki – 107
Shigesaburō Maeo – 95
Others – 25
1970
Eisaku Satō – 353
Takeo Miki – 111
Others – 3
LDP himself 1964–72
6 Kakuei Tanaka
(1918–1993)
Rep for

Niigata 3rd

5 July 1972 4 December 1974
1972
Tanaka Kakuei – 282
Takeo Fukuda – 180
LDP himself 1972–74
7 Takeo Miki
(1907–1988)
Rep for

Tokushima At-large

4 December 1974 23 December 1976
1974
Takeo Miki – Green tickY
Takeo Fukuda – Red XN
Masayoshi Ōhira – Red XN
Yasuhiro Nakasone – Red XN
LDP himself 1974–76
8 Takeo Fukuda
(1905–1995)
Rep for

Gunma 3rd

23 December 1976 1 December 1978
1976
Takeo Fukuda – Green tickY
Masayoshi Ōhira – Red XN
LDP himself 1976–78
9 Masayoshi Ōhira
(1910–1980)
(Died in office)
Rep for

Kagawa 2nd

1 December 1978 12 June 1980
1978 1st round
Masayoshi Ōhira – 748
Fukuda Takeo – 638
Yasuhiro Nakasone – 93
Toshio Kōmoto – 46
1978 2nd round
Unopposed
LDP himself 1978–80
(Eiichi Nishimura)
(1897–1987) Acting
Rep for Ōita 2nd 12 June 1980 15 July 1980 Acting LDP (Ito M.) 1980; Acting
10 Zenkō Suzuki
(1911–2004)
Rep for

Iwate 1st

15 July 1980 25 November 1982
1980 1st round
Zenko Suzuki – Green tickY
Kiichi Miyazawa – Red XN
Yasuhiro Nakasone – Red XN
Toshio Kōmoto – Red XN
1980 2nd round
Unopposed
LDP himself 1980–82
11 Yasuhiro Nakasone
(1918–2019)
Rep for

Gunma 3rd

25 November 1982 31 October 1987
1982 1st Round
Yasuhiro Nakasone – 57.6% (559,673)
Toshio Kōmoto – 27.2% (265,078)
Shintarō Abe – 8.2% (80,443)
Ichirō Nakagawa – 6.8% (66,041)
1982 2nd Round
Unopposed
1984
Unopposed Walkover
1986
1-year Extension
LDP himself 1982–87
12 Noboru Takeshita
(1924–2000)
Rep for

Shimane At-large

31 October 1987 2 June 1989
1987
Noboru Takeshita – Green tickY
Shintarō Abe – Red XN
Kiichi Miyazawa – Red XN
LDP himself 1987–89
13 Sōsuke Uno
(1922–1998)
Rep for

Shiga At-large

2 June 1989 8 August 1989
June 1989
Sōsuke Uno – Green tickY
Masayoshi Itō – Red XN
LDP himself 1989
14 Toshiki Kaifu
(1931–2022)
Rep for

Aichi 3rd

8 August 1989 30 October 1991
August 1989 1st round
Toshiki Kaifu – 279
Yoshirō Hayashi – 120
Shintarō Ishihara – 48
August 1989 2nd round
Unopposed
LDP himself 1989–91
15 Kiichi Miyazawa
(1919–2007)
Rep for

Hiroshima 3rd

31 October 1991 29 July 1993
1991
Kiichi Miyazawa – 285
Michio Wantanabe – 120
Hiroshi Mitsuzuka – 87
LDP himself 1991–93
16 Yōhei Kōno
(b. 1937)
Rep for

Kanagawa 5th

29 July 1993 1 October 1995
1993 1st round
Yōhei Kōno – 208
Michio Wantanabe – 159
1993 2nd round
Unopposed
JNP Hosokawa 1993–94
JRP Hata 1994
JSP Murayama
(coalition)
1994–96
17 Ryutaro Hashimoto
(1937–2006)
Rep for

Okayama 4th

1 October 1995 24 July 1998
1995
Ryutaro Hashimoto – 304
Junichiro Koizumi – 87
1997
Unopposed Walkover
LDP himself 1996–98
18 Keizō Obuchi
(1937–2000)
Rep for

Gunma 5th

24 July 1998 5 April 2000
1998
Keizō Obuchi – 225
Seiroku Kajiyama – 102
Junichiro Koizumi – 84
1999
Keizō Obuchi – 350
Koichi Kato – 113
Taku Yamasaki – 51
LDP himself 1998–2000
19 Yoshirō Mori
(b. 1937)
Rep for

Ishikawa 2nd

5 April 2000 24 April 2001
2000
Yoshirō Mori – Green tickY
Mikio Aoki – Red XN
Masakuni Murakami – Red XN
Hiromu Nonaka – Red XN
Shizuka Kamei – Red XN
LDP himself 2000–01
20 Junichiro Koizumi
(b. 1942)
Rep for

Kanagawa 11th

24 April 2001 20 September 2006
2001 1st Round
Junichiro Koizumi – 298
Ryutaro Hashimoto – 155
Tarō Asō – 31
2001 2nd Round
Unopposed
2003
Junichiro Koizumi – 339
Shizuka Kamei – 139
Takao Fujii – 65
Masahiko Kōmura – 54
LDP himself 2001–06
21 Shinzo Abe
(1954–2022)
Rep for

Yamaguchi 4th

20 September 2006 26 September 2007
Shinzo Abe – 464
Tarō Asō – 136
Sadakazu Tanigaki – 102
LDP himself 2006–07
22 Yasuo Fukuda
(b. 1936)
Rep for

Gunma 4th

26 September 2007 22 September 2008
Yasuo Fukuda – 330
Tarō Asō – 197
LDP himself 2007–08
23 Tarō Asō
(b. 1940)
Rep for

Fukuoka 8th

22 September 2008 16 September 2009

Acting: 16 September2009 – 28 September2009

Tarō Asō – 351
Kaoru Yosano – 66
Yuriko Koike – 46
Nobuteru Ishihara – 37
Shigeru Ishiba – 25
LDP himself 2008–09
24 Sadakazu Tanigaki (b. 1945) Rep for

Kyoto 5th

28 September 2009 26 September 2012
Sadakazu Tanigaki – 300
Taro Kono – 144
Yasutoshi Nishimura – 54
DPJ Hatoyama Y. 2009–10
DPJ Kan 2010–11
DPJ Noda 2011–12
25

(21)

Shinzo Abe
(1954–2022)
Rep for

Yamaguchi 4th

26 September 2012 14 September 2020
2012 1st Round
Shinzo Abe – 141
Shigeru Ishiba – 199
Nobuteru Ishihara – 96
Nobutaka Machimura 34
Yoshimasa Hayashi – 27
2012 2nd Round
Shinzo Abe – 108
Shigeru Ishiba – 89
2015
Unopposed Walkover
Shinzo Abe – 553
Shigeru Ishiba – 254
LDP himself 2012–20
26 Yoshihide Suga
(b. 1948)
Rep for

Kanagawa 2nd

14 September 2020 29 September 2021
Yoshihide Suga – 377
Fumio Kishida – 89
Shigeru Ishiba – 68
LDP himself 2020–21
27 Fumio Kishida
(b. 1957)
Rep for

Hiroshima 1st

29 September 2021 Incumbent
Fumio Kishida – 256
Taro Kono – 255
Sanae Takaichi – 188
Seiko Noda – 63
Fumio Kishida – 257
Taro Kono – 170
LDP himself 2021–present

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.