Japan’s LDP Election Date Shifted to Accommodate PM’s Diplomatic Schedule; Election on Sept. 27 Allows Kishida to Vote After Returning from New York

The Yomiuri Shimbun

15:30 JST, August 20, 2024

The timing of the Liberal Democratic Party’s presidential election, which is set for Sept. 27, was heavily influenced by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s diplomatic schedule.

The official campaign period for the election will begin on Sept. 12.

The official announcement of the election is still more than three weeks away, which will likely affect the strategies of the various camps, including when each candidate announces they are running.

Kishida is scheduled to visit New York to attend the U.N. General Assembly and other meetings from around Sept. 22 to 26.

Initially, the LDP had floated plans to make the official election announcement on Sept.5 and hold the vote on Sept. 20. However, if that schedule were followed, a new party president would already have been elected by the time Kishida traveled to New York.

There was concern within the government, with a high-ranking government official saying, “The prime minister would be put in a halfway position, which is not something we want.”

Kishida also wanted to visit New York as a capstone to his diplomatic career before the election of a new LDP president and to vote in the presidential election upon his return to Japan. Thus, the party is believed to have taken into account the prime minister’s wishes regarding the timing of the presidential election.

Many in the party welcome the movement of the election date to Sept. 27, as it will allow the LDP to use the next six weeks or so to make appeals to public opinion.

Some have said that the LDP election can take attention away from the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan’s leadership election, which is scheduled to begin official campaigning on Sept. 7 and be held on Sept. 23.

LDP candidates are carefully planning their future moves to expand their support while avoiding a lull in the long-running race.

Following former economic security minister Takayuki Kobayashi’s announcement on Monday, former LDP Secretary General Shigeru Ishiba is also set to announce his candidacy at an early date. Some other camps are also expected to make moves after assessing their factions and the number of nominations they can expect to receive.

Some LDP officials believe that LDP Secretary General Toshimitsu Motegi and former Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi will probably try to differentiate themselves from the large field of candidates by taking a certain amount of time before announcing their candidacies while continuing to consolidate their support behind the scenes.