The 2007 Liberal Democratic Party presidential election was held on 23 September 2007 after the incumbent party leader and Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe announced that he would resign on 12 September 2007."Japan's ruling party decides date to pick Abe's successor", Xinhua (People's Daily Online), September 13, 2007. Abe had only been elected to the post slightly less than a year earlier; his resignation came only three days after a new parliamentary session had begun. Abe said his unpopularity was hindering the passage of an anti-terrorism law, involving among other things Japan's continued military presence in Afghanistan. Party officials also said the embattled Prime Minister was suffering from poor health."Hospital said Abe "extremely weak"", Xinhua (People's Daily Online), September 13, 2007."Abe in hospital after resignation", Al Jazeera, September 13, 2007.
Fukuda defeated Asō in the election, receiving 330 votes against 197 votes for Asō."Fukuda Chosen to Replace Abe as Japan's Prime Minister" , VOA News, September 23, 2007."Fukuda wins LDP race / Will follow in footsteps of father as prime minister", The Daily Yomiuri, September 23, 2007.
Since the LDP had an absolute majority in the lower house, Fukuda became Prime Minister on 25 September 2007. His principal rival, Tarō Asō, later succeeded him as prime minister after Fukuda's resignation in September 2008.
Campaign Aso conceded on 16 September 2007 that he was unlikely to win the race and stated he was primarily continuing as a candidate to give party members a choice."New favourite in Japan's PM race", BBC News, 16 September 2007. Fukuda had by that date gathered the official support of eight factions of the LDP, all except Aso's own faction; he furthermore stated he would not visit the controversial Yasukuni Shrine,"Fukuda pledges not to visit Yasukuni shrine if elected new PM", Xinhua (People's Daily Online), September 16, 2007. and proposed the construction of a secular national memorial facility instead. Aso stated that there could be no replacement for the shrine, but did not state whether he would visit the shrine if elected."Japan's ruling party presidential candidates introduce similar policy platforms", Xinhua (People's Daily Online), September 16, 2007. Fukuda struck a more conciliatory tone in relation to the North Korean abduction issue, while Aso positioned himself as a hardliner."Both candidates to become Japan's prime minister start campaigns", Associated Press (International Herald Tribune), September 17, 2007.
According to media surveys, Fukuda had 213 of the lawmakers on his side, while Aso had the assured support of 45 Diet members."Japan's ruling party election to affect domestic, foreign policy", Xinhua (People's Daily Online), September 20, 2007. Observers agreed that Fukuda was almost certain to win due to the widespread support across faction borders he had obtained.Hisane Masaki, "Fukuda heads Japan's leadership race", Asia Times Online, September 15, 2007.
Fukuda received 330 votes in the election, held on 23 September, defeating Asō, who received 197 votes. The support from Diet members alone was enough for Fukuda to win the leadership in the first round."Fukuda wins wide support, upper hand in premiership race with Aso", Kyodo News, September 14, 2007.
Candidates Endorsement by at least twenty LDP lawmakers is necessary to become a candidate in the election. Since there are 387 LDP Diet members and 141 prefectural LDP representatives (three for each of the 47 prefectural chapters), there is a total of 528 votes."Japanese senior politician Fukuda enjoys lead in ruling party presidential rivalry", Xinhua (People's Daily Online), September 14, 2007. The following people were candidates in the election: Declared Candidate(s) Date of birth Current position Party faction Electoral district Yasuo Fukuda Member of the House of Representatives Seiwa Seisaku Kenkyūkai (Machimura) Gunma 4th Tarō Asō Secretary-General of the Liberal Democratic PartyMember of the House of Representatives Ikōkai (Asō) Fukuoka 8th
Declined People who were considered likely candidates, but refused to seek the nomination, were: Former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, Abe's immediate predecessor, was also considered a possible candidate, but declined to seek the nomination. He expressed his support for Fukuda on 14 September 2007."Koizumi 'to support Fukuda'", Yomiuri Shimbun, September 14, 2007. The incumbent Minister of Finance Fukushiro Nukaga initially stated on 13 September 2007 he would run,"Japan's finance minister to run for PM", Forbes, September 13, 2007.Keiichi Yamamura and Sachiko Sakamaki, "Aso, Nukaga to Run for Japan Prime Minister's Post", Bloomberg.com, September 13, 2007. but decided to support Fukuda on 14 September 2007 after he had a 40-minute meeting with him."Japan's finance chief not to run for ruling party president", Associated Press (International Herald Tribune), September 14, 2007. Sadakazu Tanigaki, a former Minister of Finance under Junichiro Koizumi,"Possible contenders", The Los Angeles Times, September 13, 2007. and Taku Yamasaki, a former LDP Secretary General and the third candidate in the 2006 leadership election, both announced their support for Fukuda on 14 September 2007, as did former LDP Secretary General Makoto Koga."LDP presidential race will be head-on clash between Fukuda, Aso", Mainichi Daily News, September 14, 2007. Kaoru Yosano, the incumbent Chief Cabinet Secretary, was also considered a likely candidate,"Japanese PM admitted to hospital", BBC News, September 13, 2007. but did not stand.
Supporters Recommenders Party regulations require candidates to have the written support at least 20 Diet members, known as recommenders, to run.
Number of recommenders by factions CandidatesYasuo FukudaTarō Asō10Banchō Seisaku Kenkyūjo10Heisei Kenkyūkai34Ikōkai03Kinmirai Seiji Kenkyūkai32Seiwa Seisaku Kenkyūkai3032Shisuikai3510No faction24
Results + Full resultCandidateDiet membersParty membersTotal points Votes % Popular votes % Allocated votes % Votes %Yasuo Fukuda 25465.80% 7653.90%33062.62%Tarō Asō13234.20% 6546.10%19737.38%Total386100.00%141100.00%527100.00%Valid votes38699.74%141100.00%52799.81%Invalid and blank votes10.26%00.00%10.19%Turnout387100.00%141100.00%528100.00%Registered voters387100.00%141100.00%528100.00%
Results of Party Members' Votes by Prefectures + Results of Party Members' Votes by PrefecturesPrefecturesYasuo FukudaTarō AsōVotes%Votes%Aichi12Akita12Aomori12Chiba03Ehime03Fukui21FukuokaNo votes0No votes3FukushimaNo votes2No votes1Gifu21GunmaNo votes3No votes0Hiroshima30Hokkaido21Hyōgo12IbarakiNo votes0No votes3Ishikawa21Iwate12Kagawa12Kagoshima30Kanagawa03Kōchi12Kumamoto21Kyoto21Mie21Miyagi12Miyazaki12Nagano30Nagasaki12Nara21Niigata03Ōita03Okayama21Okinawa30Osaka12Saga12Saitama30Shiga21Shimane30Shizuoka12Tochigi30Tokushima21Tokyo03Tottori21Toyama30Wakayama30Yamagata21YamaguchiNo votes3No votes0Yamanashi21Total7665
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