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2007 Liberal Democratic Party presidential election

Political leadership election in Japan From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The 2007 Liberal Democratic Party presidential election was held on 23 September 2007 after the incumbent party leader and Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe announced that he would resign on 12 September 2007.[1] Abe had only been elected to the post slightly less than a year earlier; his resignation came only three days after a new parliamentary session had begun. Abe said his unpopularity was hindering the passage of an anti-terrorism law, involving among other things Japan's continued military presence in Afghanistan. Party officials also said the embattled Prime Minister was suffering from poor health.[2][3]

Quick facts Candidate, Leader's seat ...
2007 Liberal Democratic Party presidential election
← 2006
23 September 2007
2008 →
 
Candidate Yasuo Fukuda Tarō Asō
Leader's seat Gunma 4th Fukuoka 8th
LDP MPs 254 (65.80%) 132 (34.20%)
Party members 76 (53.90%) 65 (46.10%)
Total 330 (62.62%) 197 (37.38%)
President before election

Shinzō Abe

 Elected President

Yasuo Fukuda

Close

Fukuda defeated Asō in the election, receiving 330 votes against 197 votes for Asō.[4][5]

Since the LDP had an absolute majority in the lower house, Fukuda became Prime Minister on 25 September 2007.[5] His principal rival, Tarō Asō, later succeeded him as prime minister after Fukuda's resignation in September 2008.

Campaign

Aso conceded on 16 September 2007 that he was unlikely to win the race and stated he was primarily continuing as a candidate to give party members a choice.[6] Fukuda had by that date gathered the official support of eight factions of the LDP, all except Aso's own faction; he furthermore stated he would not visit the controversial Yasukuni Shrine,[7] and proposed the construction of a secular national memorial facility instead. Aso stated that there could be no replacement for the shrine, but did not state whether he would visit the shrine if elected.[8] Fukuda struck a more conciliatory tone in relation to the North Korean abduction issue, while Aso positioned himself as a hardliner.[9]

According to media surveys, Fukuda had 213 of the lawmakers on his side, while Aso had the assured support of 45 Diet members.[10] Observers agreed that Fukuda was almost certain to win due to the widespread support across faction borders he had obtained.[11]

Fukuda received 330 votes in the election, held on 23 September, defeating Asō, who received 197 votes.[4][5] The support from Diet members alone was enough for Fukuda to win the leadership in the first round.[12]

Candidates

Endorsement by at least twenty LDP lawmakers is necessary to become a candidate in the election.[1] Since there are 387 LDP Diet members and 141 prefectural LDP representatives (three for each of the 47 prefectural chapters), there is a total of 528 votes.[13] The following people were candidates in the election:

Declared

More information Candidate(s), Date of birth ...
Candidate(s) Date of birth Current position Party faction Electoral district
Yasuo Fukuda		 (1936-07-16)16 July 1936
(age 71)		 Member of the House of Representatives
(since 1990)
Previous offices held
  • Chief Cabinet Secretary
    (2000-2004)
  • Minister of State for Gender Equality
    (2001–2004)
  • Director-General of the Okinawa Development Agency
    (2000)
 Seiwa Seisaku Kenkyūkai
(Machimura)
Gunma 4th
Tarō Asō		 (1940-09-20)20 September 1940
(age 67)		 Secretary-General of the Liberal Democratic Party
(since 2007)
Member of the House of Representatives
(1979–1983, since 1986)
Previous offices held
 Ikōkai
(Asō)
Fukuoka 8th
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Declined

People who were considered likely candidates, but refused to seek the nomination, were:

Supporters

Recommenders

Party regulations require candidates to have the written support at least 20 Diet members, known as recommenders, to run.

Yasuo Fukuda[21]
Leader of recommenders
Campaign Manager
Recommenders
Tarō Asō[21]
Leader of recommenders
Campaign Manager
Recommenders
Number of recommenders by factions
More information Candidates, Yasuo Fukuda ...
Candidates Yasuo Fukuda Tarō Asō
Atarashii Nami [ja] 1 0
Banchō Seisaku Kenkyūjo 1 0
Heisei Kenkyūkai 3 4
Ikōkai 0 3
Kinmirai Seiji Kenkyūkai 3 2
Seiwa Seisaku Kenkyūkai 3 0
Shin Zaisei Kenkyūkai [ja] 3 2
Shisuikai 3 5
Yūrinkai [ja] 1 0
No faction 2 4
Close

Results

More information Candidate, Diet members ...
Full result
Candidate Diet members Party members Total points
Votes % Popular votes % Allocated votes % Votes %
Yasuo Fukuda 当 25465.80% 7653.90% 330
62.62%
Tarō Asō 13234.20% 6546.10% 197
37.38%
Total 386 100.00% 141 100.00% 527 100.00%
Valid votes 386 99.74% 141 100.00% 527 99.81%
Invalid and blank votes 1 0.26% 0 0.00% 1 0.19%
Turnout 387 100.00% 141 100.00% 528 100.00%
Registered voters 387 100.00% 141 100.00% 528 100.00%
Close

Results of Party Members' Votes by Prefectures

More information Prefectures, Yasuo Fukuda ...
Results of Party Members' Votes by Prefectures[22]
Prefectures Yasuo Fukuda Tarō Asō
Votes % Votes %
Aichi 1 2
Akita 1 2
Aomori 1 2
Chiba[a] 0 3
Ehime[a] 0 3
Fukui 2 1
Fukuoka[b] No votes 0 No votes 3
Fukushima[b] No votes 2 No votes 1
Gifu[c] 2 1
Gunma[b] No votes 3 No votes 0
Hiroshima[c] 3 0
Hokkaido 2 1
Hyōgo 1 2
Ibaraki[b] No votes 0 No votes 3
Ishikawa 2 1
Iwate 1 2
Kagawa 1 2
Kagoshima[a] 3 0
Kanagawa[a] 0 3
Kōchi 1 2
Kumamoto 2 1
Kyoto 2 1
Mie 2 1
Miyagi 1 2
Miyazaki 1 2
Nagano[a] 3 0
Nagasaki[c] 1 2
Nara 2 1
Niigata[c] 0 3
Ōita[a] 0 3
Okayama 2 1
Okinawa[c] 3 0
Osaka 1 2
Saga 1 2
Saitama[a] 3 0
Shiga 2 1
Shimane[c] 3 0
Shizuoka 1 2
Tochigi[a] 3 0
Tokushima 2 1
Tokyo[a] 0 3
Tottori[c] 2 1
Toyama[a] 3 0
Wakayama[a] 3 0
Yamagata 2 1
Yamaguchi[b] No votes 3 No votes 0
Yamanashi 2 1
Total 76 65
Close
  1. [a]
    Winner take all delegates.
  2. [b]
    Executive decision.
  3. [c]
    Representative vote.

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