2025 Liberal-Democratic Party (Japan) Presidential Election

Sanae Takaichi, a hardline conservative and former economic security minister, emerged victorious in the Liberal-Democratic Party’s (LDP) leadership contest on October 4, 2025. She was sworn in as Japan’s first woman prime minister on October 21. The election had been scheduled after Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba announced on September 7 his intention to resign from both the premiership and the LDP presidency. Ishiba made the decision in the wake of the LDP’s historic defeats in the October 2024 and July 2025 elections, in which it lost its parliamentary majority in both houses of the Diet for the first time since its founding in 1955.

Takaichi, a protégé of former prime minister Shinzo Abe, defeated agriculture minister Shinjirō Koizumi in a runoff with 54.3 percent of the vote after none of the five candidates secured a majority in the first round. She is known for an expansionary fiscal agenda inspired by Abe’s economic policies, calling for aggressive government spending, tax incentives, and increased efforts to tackle rising prices. She has also been described as an “anti-globalist” who emphasizes protecting national interests at a moment of economic strain, demographic decline, and growing unease over immigration.

Background

In the 2020s the LDP has seen four prime ministers resign in quick succession amid scandal, violence, the COVID-19 pandemic, and political upheaval, reflecting the precarious state of Japanese politics. Shinzo Abe, the country’s longest-serving leader, resigned in 2020 citing health reasons but was assassinated in 2022 in an event that exposed ties between the LDP and the Unification Church (a controversial religious movement founded in South Korea). His successor, Yoshihide Suga, left office after a little more than a year amid criticism of his pandemic response. Fumio Kishida then became prime minister but resigned in 2024 after approval ratings collapsed following a campaign-funds scandal. Shigeru Ishiba, a longtime rival of Abe, succeeded Kishida but failed to restore public trust, leading to his resignation announcement.

What is at stake?

The next leader of the LDP will face pressing challenges, including:

• Political instability: After four collapsed premierships in the 2020s, restoring stability within both the LDP and the Japanese government will be imperative.
• Economic pressures: Stubborn inflation, a weakened yen, and rising living costs have fueled widespread public frustration.
• Demographic decline: Japan’s population is shrinking and aging, with consistently low birth rates compounding the crisis.
• Regional and global instability: The United States, a long-standing ally, recently imposed tariffs on Japanese goods. Meanwhile, relations with China, North Korea, and Russia remain tense in an increasingly volatile international environment.

The candidates

Sanae Takaichi, a hardline conservative, won the plurality of the vote in the first round of voting on October 4. She then defeated moderate Shinjirō Koizumi in a runoff.