1998 Liberal Democratic Party presidential election

Japanese political party leadership election February 2026February 2026 1997 Liberal Democratic Party presidential election 1997 1999 Liberal Democratic Party presidential election 1999 1998 7 24 y 自民党Logo.svg legislative LDP MPs Party members Total Keizo Obuchi 19980730.jpg Keizo Obuchi Gunma 5th 43B3AE 225 (54.74%) Seiroku Kajiyama.jpg Seiroku Kajiyama Ibaraki 4th 679fd7 102 (24.82%) Junichiro Koizumi 1997.jpg Junichiro Koizumi Kanagawa 11th 438C15 84 (20.44%) President Ryutaro Hashimoto Keizō Obuchi The 1998 Liberal Democratic Party presidential election was held on 7 July 1998 to elect the President of the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan (LDP). Overview Following the LDP's victory in the 1996 Japanese general election, and Ryutaro Hashimoto replacing Tomiichi Murayama as prime minister, two trends emerged within the LDP. One group, led by Secretary-General of the Liberal Democratic Party Koichi Kato and Deputy Secretary-General Hiromu Nonaka, emphasized the LDP-SDP cooperation. The other group distanced themselves from the SDP and favoured a "conservative-conservative coalition" with Ichiro Ozawa, leader of the Liberal Party. The conservative-conservative coalition faction included former prime minister Yasuhiro Nakasone, Shizuka Kamei, and Seiroku Kajiyama.『平成政治史 2』 2-3 In the 12 July 1998 Japanese House of Councillors election, news reports predicted a strong LDP victory. However, criticism gradually grew as the election approached due to Hashimoto's inconsistent statements regarding tax cuts. Koichi Kato expressed concern, saying, "If the LDP doesn't perform well, people will start calling for a Kajiyama cabinet". Late at night on 12 July, before the vote count was even completed, Hashimoto announced his resignation as LDP president. The LDP won 44 seats, a significant drop from its previous total of 61. With Hashimoto's resignation, Kato was forced to take responsibility for the election defeat and was no longer eligible to succeed Hashimoto. The remaining viable candidates were narrowed down to Keizo Obuchi, chairman of the Obuchi faction and incumbent foreign minister, and Kajiyama, also a member of the Obuchi faction, who had been proactive in proposing policy proposals on financial issues.『平成政治史 2』 2-3 On the day of the election, when it was reported that the Obuchi faction, the largest faction, was losing ground, faction leaders gathered at Noboru Takeshita's home. The leaders gathered and agreed to support Hashimoto's resignation and the chairman, Foreign Minister Obuchi Keizo, as his successor, and discussions with Takeshita were given priority over Hashimoto. 金融危機、白熱の政策論争　98年（平成10）自民総裁選 平成Politics30 https://archive.is/3ypZv　 2018-08-30 日本経済新聞 日本経済新聞社 On 14 July, Obuchi faction leaders Tamisuke Watanuki, Kajiyama, Muraoka, Nonaka, and Tsukasa Nishida gathered at the Imperial Hotel. As previously discussed with Nonaka, Secretary-General Nishida opened the discussion by saying, "Let's go with Obuchi." At this point, Obuchi's unopposed victory was considered a certainty. That evening, Taku Yamazaki, Chairman of the Policy Research Council, visited Nonaka and announced, "I will soon leave the Watanabe faction and form the Near Future Politics Research Group (Yamazaki faction) and support Obuchi in the presidential election." The Obuchi faction's general meeting was scheduled for July 15 to officially decide on Obuchi's candidacy, but just before that, Kajiyama called a halt.『平成政治史 2』 6-7 Kajiyama declared his candidacy. He left the faction (along with Shinji Sato and Yoshihide Suga) and ran independently, resulting in a split election. The attention on the election suddenly increased, but the LDP's strategy was that the party needed to avoid splitting into two in a battle where the outcome was already clear. The strategy thus developed was to field a "third candidate." This was one of the reasons behind Junichiro Koizumi's candidacy. Nonaka even said, "If Koizumi doesn't have enough endorsers, we'll lend them to him from the Obuchi faction".『平成政治史 2』 9-11 Koizumi's candidacy was also intended to reduce Kajiyama's share of the vote, thereby weakening his influence in the expected Obuchi cabinet after the election. Makiko Tanaka described the presidential election as "a battle between an ordinary man (Obuchi), a military man (Kajiyama), and an eccentric (Koizumi)".Yoichi Serigawa, History of the Heisei Government, Nikkei Premier Series, 2018, 133 pages, Nikkei Business Publications Tarō Asō, Hachiro Okonogi, Taro Kono, and Seiko Noda2014-05-04 野田聖子氏「小渕人事のすさまじさ、だんだん伝わる」 （５月４日付朝刊政界面関連インタビュー） https://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXNASFS3001I_R00C14A5I10000/ 2018-12-30 日本経済新聞社 also voted for Kajiyama. The Mitsuzuka faction was initially divided into two groups: the Obuchi supporters led by Yoshirō Mori and the Kajiyama supporters led by anti-cabinet Kamei. However, a sense of crisis grew rapidly that the factions could become a "grass-cutting ground" for the Obuchi and Kajiyama camps and split apart, and they agreed to field either Mori or Koizumi as their own candidate. Mori, as a member of the executive committee, declined to run and supported Koizumi. Kamei and others, along with a group led by Yasuhiro Nakasone from the former Watanabe faction, would form the Post-Presidential Election Shisuikai. The vote took place on July 24, and as initially predicted, Obuchi won by a landslide. However, Kajiyama, who was expected to receive around 50 votes, received 102 votes, exceeding triple digits, while Koizumi received only 84 votes, less than the total number of 87 Mitsuzuka faction members, placing him in third place with two abstentions and one no vote. Candidates Declared Candidate(s) Date of birth Current position Party faction Electoral districtcenter|x120px Keizō Obuchi 1937 6 25 y(age 62) Minister for Foreign Affairs(since 1997)Member of the House of Representatives(since 1963) Previous offices held Chief Cabinet Secretary(1987–1989) Heisei Kenkyūkai(Obuchi) center|x30px Gunma 5thcenter|x120px Seiroku Kajiyama 1926 3 27 y(age 72) Member of the House of Representatives(1969–1976; since 1979) Previous offices held Chief Cabinet Secretary(1996–1997) Secretary-General of the Liberal Democratic Party(1992–1993) Minister of Justice(1990) Minister of International Trade and Industry(1989) Minister of Home Affairs(1987–1988) Chairman of the National Public Safety Commission(1987–1988) Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary (Political affairs)(1974) Speaker of the Ibaraki Prefectural Assembly(1967–1969) Member of the Ibaraki Prefectural Assembly(1958–1969) None(former Heisei Kenkyūkai) center|x30px Ibaraki 4thcenter|x120px Junichiro Koizumi 1942 1 8 y(age 56) Member of the House of Representatives(since 1972) Previous offices held Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare(1988–1989; since 1996) Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications(1992–1993) Seiwa Seisaku Kenkyūkai(Mitsuzuka) center|x30px Kanagawa 11th Results + Full results CandidateDiet membersLocal delegatesTotal pointsVotes%Votes%Total votes% Keizō Obuchi red 当225 54.74 00b13854.74% Seiroku Kajiyama102 24.82 00b13824.82% Junichiro Koizumi84 20.44 00b13820.44% Total364100.00%47100.00%411100.00%Valid votes36499.73%47100.00%41199.76%Invalid and blank votes10.27%00.00%10.24%Turnout36599.46%47100.00%41299.52%Registered voters367100.00%47100.00%414100.00% Notes References Category:1998 political party leadership elections Category:1998 elections in Japan Category:July 1998 in Japan 1998