January 1999 Democratic Party of Japan leadership election

Kan had led the Democratic Party since its foundation in 1996, initially alongside Yukio Hatoyama, then alone from 1997. During 1998, he had overseen the merger with other opposition parties which established the party as the second-largest in the country, and wrested control of the House of Councillors from the Liberal Democratic government in the 1998 election. He came up for re-election at the peak of his popularity and was considered assured of victory. He was supported by Hatoyama and secretary-general Tsutomu Hata.^[1][2]

While Kan had been expected to be unopposed, he was challenged by Shigefumi Matsuzawa, a junior lawmaker serving his second term in the Diet. He stated he ran to challenge the leadership and call for more involvement for junior legislators, and proved more popular than expected.^[1]