A presidential election was held on 20 September 2018 to elect the next president of the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan for a new 3-year term. Incumbent president Shinzo Abe was running for his re-election after a rule change in 2017 that allowed him to run for a third term.
Abe's subsequent victory led to him staying as prime minister for just under two years. In this time, on 22 November 2019, he broke the record for the nation's longest-serving prime ministership previously held by Taro Katsura, who had served three times between 1901 and 1913. He also served the longest uninterrupted term by 24 August 2020, ahead of Eisaku Satō's 2,797 days, before resigning four days later.
Background
Scandals
In March 2018, it was revealed that the Finance Ministry (with finance minister Tarō Asō at its head) had falsified documents presented to the parliament in relation to the Moritomo Gakuen scandal, to remove 14 passages implicating Abe. It has been suggested that the scandal could cost Abe his seat as the Liberal Democratic Party's leader. A Kyodo poll showed the Japanese government popularity's has fallen as low as 30% from 44% in February.
Candidates
Expressed intention but did not have enough supporters for nomination
- Seiko Noda, then-Interior Minister.
Speculative
- Tarō Kōno, current Foreign Minister. Son of Yōhei Kōno, a former Speaker of the House of Representatives.
- Tarō Asō, current Finance Minister and former Prime Minister of Japan. Grandson of former Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida.
- Shinjiro Koizumi, First Vice Secretary-General of the LDP and son of former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.
Declined
- Fumio Kishida, current chair of the LDP Policy Research Council and former Foreign Minister in the Second and Third Abe Cabinet.
Supporters
Recommenders
Party regulations require candidates to have the written support at least 20 Diet members, known as recommenders, to run.
Shinzo Abe
- Seiko Hashimoto (Member of the House of Councillors from National PR block) (Seiwakai)
- Akira Amari (Member of the House of Representatives for Kanagawa 13th district) (Shikōkai)
- Hirotaka Ishihara (Member of the House of Representatives for Tokyo 3rd district) (Kinmirai Seiji Kenkyūkai)
- Seishiro Eto (Member of the House of Representatives for Ōita 2nd district) (Seiwakai)
- Toshiaki Endo (Member of the House of Representatives for Yamagata 1st district) (Yūrinkai)
- Toshitaka Ōoka (Member of the House of Representatives for Shiga 1st district) (Shisuikai)
- Tetsushi Sakamoto (Member of the House of Representatives for Kumamoto 3rd district) (Kinmirai Seiji Kenkyūkai)
- Katsuei Hirasawa (Member of the House of Representatives for Tokyo 17th district) (Shisuikai)
- Noriko Horiuchi (Member of the House of Representatives for Yamanashi 2nd district) (Kōchikai)
- Mitsuhiro Miyakoshi (Member of the House of Representatives for Toyama 2nd district) (Kōchikai)
- Hiromichi Watanabe (Member of the House of Representatives for Chiba 6th district) (Heiseiken)
- Shigeharu Aoyama (Member of the House of Councillors from National PR block) (no faction)
- Haruko Arimura (Member of the House of Councillors from National PR block) (Shikōkai)
- Masahisa Sato (Member of the House of Councillors from National PR block) (Heiseiken)
- Emiko Takagai (Member of the House of Councillors from National PR block) (Seiwakai)
- Yoshifumi Tsuge (Member of the House of Councillors from National PR block) (no faction)
- Ichiro Tsukada (Member of the House of Councillors from Niigata) (Shikōkai)
- Takashi Hanyuda (Member of the House of Councillors from National PR block) (Seiwakai)
- Toru Miki (Member of the House of Councillors from National PR block) (Shisuikai)
- Toshiei Mizuochi (Member of the House of Councillors from National PR block) (Kōchikai)
Shigeru Ishiba
- Hidehisa Otsuji (Member of the House of Councillors from Kagoshima) (Heiseiken)
- Yoshihisa Furukawa (Member of the House of Representatives for Miyazaki 3rd district) (Suigetsukai)
- Junichi Ishii (Member of the House of Councillors from Chiba) (Heiseiken)
- Yoshifumi Matsumura (Member of the House of Councillors from Kumamoto) (Heiseiken)
- Kazuhiko Aoki (Member of the House of Councillors from Tottori-Shimane) (Heiseiken)
- Saburo Shimada (Member of the House of Councillors from Shimane) (Heiseiken)
- Shōji Maitachi (Member of the House of Councillors from Tottori) (Suigetsukai)
- Satoshi Nakanishi (Member of the House of Councillors from National PR block) (Suigetsukai)
- Seiichiro Murakami (Member of the House of Representatives for Ehime 2nd district) (no faction)
- Gen Nakatani (Member of the House of Representatives for Kōchi 1st district) (Yūrinkai)
- Kisaburo Tokai (Member of the House of Representatives for Hyōgo 10th district) (no faction)
- Keiichiro Tachibana (Member of the House of Representatives for Toyama 3rd district) (no faction)
- Tatsuya Ito (Member of the House of Representatives for Tokyo 22nd district) (Suigetsukai)
- Norihisa Tamura (Member of the House of Representatives for Mie 1st district) (Suigetsukai)
- Ryosei Akazawa (Member of the House of Representatives for Tottori 2nd district) (Suigetsukai)
- Masaaki Taira (Member of the House of Representatives for Tokyo 4th district) (Suigetsukai)
- Mamoru Fukuyama (Member of the House of Representatives for Shikoku PR block) (Suigetsukai)
- Yoshinori Tadokoro (Member of the House of Representatives for Ibaraki 1st district) (Suigetsukai)
- Saichi Kamiyama (Member of the House of Representatives for Saitama 7th district) (Suigetsukai)
- Hiroyuki Togashi (Member of the House of Representatives for Akita 1st district) (Suigetsukai)