An election may occur before the scheduled date if the Prime Minister dissolves Parliament for a snap election or if the House of Representatives passes a motion of no confidence in the government. Early elections are more likely during minority governments, as the Prime Minister does not command a majority in the House of Representatives and House of Councillors.
Background
Premiership of Shigeru Ishiba and minority government
Shigeru Ishiba was elected party president and prime minister in 2024; he led the party through two subsequent elections, in which the LDP lost its majority in both the House of Representatives and House of Councilors, respectively.
The 2024 general election resulted in the loss of majority of the Liberal Democratic Party–Komeito governing coalition under Prime Minister Ishiba.[2]
In the snap election, the LDP, and its coalition partner the Komeito, lost its majority for the first time since 2009, while opposition parties such as the Constitutional Democratic Party (CDP) and Democratic Party for the People (DPFP) made gains.[3] Two members of Ishiba's cabinet lost their seats, as the government was reduced to a minority status.[4] As no party controlled the House of Representatives, Ishiba was reelected Prime Minister in the Diet in a runoff vote, after opposition parties failed to coalesce around a single candidate. Ishiba reshuffled his cabinet.[5]
Elections for Japan's Upper House, the House of Councilors, were due in July 2025. Once again, the LDP–Komeito coalition lost its majority, as parties like the CDP and DPFP, as well as the far-right nationalist Sanseitō party, made gains.[6] After both elections, Ishiba invoked a parliamentary plurality in both houses, and believed the LDP had a responsibility to lead the government, as it would in most other parliamentary democracies.[7] Pressure continued to mount on Ishiba to resign as LDP President, but he refused and said he planned to continue serving as Prime Minister.[8]
Mid-career and junior members of the LDP, primarily members and former members of the Motegi faction, began collecting signatures to call for the early convening of a joint meeting of the party representing both houses of parliament.[9]
Due to the government's minority status, Nikkei Asia reported that the next party leader would have to have good connections with the opposition.[10]Sankei Shimbun reported that the expectation was that the next leadership election would be between Koizumi and Takaichi.[11]
LDP discontent with Ishiba, snap election considered
On 6 August 2025, Ishiba ordered an investigation into political party branches over corporate donations, which prompted criticism from within the party.[12] During a joint plenary session on 8 August, the LDP decided that it would determine whether or not to move forward with an "emergency presidential election” based on opinions by lawmakers and prefectural branch chiefs. During the meeting, Ishiba repeated his intention to stay in office.[13] A majority of lawmakers and prefectural branch chiefs (172 at the time) was required to demand a presidential election.[14]
A joint meeting of both houses of parliament was held on 8 August, with 253 members in attendance and 35 speaking. At the meeting, it was decided that the LDP Presidential Election Management Committee would consider whether to hold an early presidential election in accordance with Article 6, Paragraph 4 of the LDP rules.[15][16]
Later on 13 August, Ishiba repeated his intention to continue in office as the LDP began to consider holding an emergency presidential election to force Ishiba to face the party in another leadership vote.[17] The LDP's presidential election management committee began to discuss on the procedures for deciding whether or not to hold a special presidential election on 19 August.[18] The LDP Presidential Election Management Committee met on 19 August, and it was decided to proceed with consideration of the method of confirmation, which would involve having Diet members who wish to hold an early presidential election submit their request in writing.[19][20] Regarding the advancement of the presidential election, while there are forces defending Ishiba, there was also a growing opinion that Ishiba should be held accountable and that an emergency presidential election should be held instead, coming from non-mainstream factions such as the former Abe, Motegi, and Nikai factions, as well as young and mid-career Diet members and some prefectural federations.[21]
Cracks started to form in late August, as junior cabinet ministers began to speak out in favor of an emergency election.[22][23] Several members of the Motegi faction, including Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Hiroyoshi Sasagawa, agreed to support an early leadership election.[24][25][26][27] As more party lawmakers began to speak out, focus began to shift towards prefectural party chapters; some MPs said they would make a decision based on the wishes of their local community. As August came to close, it was becoming clear that while the LDP's party approval had fallen, Ishiba Cabinet approval had increased.[28][29]
At a "Joint Party Meeting of Members of both Houses of Parliament" held on 2 September, the LDP published its summary of Upper House election results, stating that its measures to combat rising prices did not resonate with the public and that it lost trust due to issues related to politics and money. Ishiba once again apologized for the loss of a majority, and clarified "I am not at all clinging to my position, but rather it is my responsibility to make proper decisions at the appropriate time." He subsequently told reporters that he intended to stay in office. That same day, three senior party executives resigned their positions seemingly simultaneously. Discontent continued to brew however, former Economic Minister and previous leadership candidate Sanae Takaichi called for a special election.[30] In a survey, NHK reported that ~100 lawmakers supported an election, 50 oppose, ~100 were undecided, around 30 refused to comment, and ~10 were unreachable.[31]
On the evening of 5 September, Ishiba met with close allies within his cabinet, including Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya and Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications Seiichiro Murakami, at a hotel in Tokyo.[32] Earlier that day, Minister of Justice Keisuke Suzuki became the first cabinet minister to support an early presidential election, writing that "to restore trust in the party, it is necessary for the party to unite and start anew from scratch."[33] That same day, a Kyodo survey of the LDP's 295 lawmakers found that over 120 lawmakers supported an emergency presidential election, while just under 50 opposed it.[34] By this point, Ishiba had reportedly threatened to ask the Emperor to dissolve the House of Representatives and call a general election, which would require invoking Article 7 of the Constitution.[35] On the following night, on 6 September, both Koizumi and former Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga (who had served as Vice President of the Liberal Democratic Party under Ishiba) reportedly urged Ishiba to resign at the Prime Minister's Official Residence in Tokyo.[36][37][38]
Ishiba resigns, election of Sanae Takaichi as LDP leader
"Now that negotiations on U.S. tariff measures have reached a conclusion, I believe this is the appropriate time to step aside and make way for the next generation."
Takaichi was elected by the LDP as party president, succeeding Ishiba.
On 7 September, Shigeru Ishiba announced that he would resign as President of the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan.[40][41][42] Ishiba stated he sought to claim "responsibility" as party leader for losses in recent elections, and to avoid dividing the party.[43] Ishiba's announcement effectively cancelled the emergency election process entirely. He instead instructed Moriyama, whose resignation had not been accepted by Ishiba, to begin the process to hold an extraordinary presidential election.[44] Ishiba said he determined now was the "appropriate time" to step aside, after a written version of the Japan–U.S. tariff agreement had been finalized.[45] Ishiba promised to continue serving as Prime Minister until a new leader was elected, and did not endorse a candidate in the subsequent election. His tenure lasted about one year.[39]
In the LDP leadership election on 5 October, Sanae Takaichi was elected as LDP's first woman president. In her first acts as party president, Takaichi appointed Tarō Asō as vice president and Shun'ichi Suzuki as secretary-general of the LDP.[46]
Collapse of LDP-Komeito coalition
Komeito chief representative Tetsuo Saito announced that the party would leave the ruling coalition with the LDP.
On 10 October, Komeito chief representative Tetsuo Saito announced that it would leave the ruling coalition, over disagreements with Takaichi's leadership and the party's handling of the slush fund scandal, ending 26 years of the LDP-Komeito coalition.[47] Following this, the vote to confirm Takaichi as prime minister was delayed to 20 October.[47] Opposition parties began exploring options to form a government without the LDP,[48] with even one LDP lawmaker even raising the idea of Ishiba remaining as prime minister alongside Takaichi remaining as party president, to save the coalition.[49]
Electoral system
The 465 seats of the House of Representatives are contested via parallel voting. Of these, 289 members are elected in single-member constituencies using first-past-the-post voting, while 176 members are elected in 11 multi-member constituencies via party list proportional representation. Candidates from parties with legal political party-list, which requires either ≥5 Diet members or ≥1 Diet member and ≥2% of the nationwide vote in one tier of a recent national election, are allowed to stand in a constituency and be present on the party list. If they lose their constituency vote, they may still be elected in the proportionally allocated seats. However, if such a dual candidate wins less than 10% of the vote in their majoritarian constituency, they are also disqualified as a proportional candidate.
↑ Of the 12 independents, six are in government through caucusing with the LDP, while six are in the opposition (four in Yūshi no Kai, two not in any caucus).
↑ 竹本能文; 鬼原民幸; 鬼原民幸 (8 August 2025). "自民党、総裁選の前倒しを判断へ 両院議員総会で決定＝出席議員". Reuters (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 10 September 2025. Retrieved 8 September 2025.
↑ 内閣支持率42%、10ポイント上昇 総裁選「前倒し不要」52% 日経世論調査[Cabinet approval rating rises 10 points to 42%; 52% say there is no need to bring forward the presidential election - Nikkei opinion poll]. The Nikkei (in Japanese). 31 August 2025. Retrieved 31 August 2025.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
Japanportal 
