Several Veteran Lawmakers Not Running in Lower House Election; Former PM Yoshihide Suga among Diet Members Leaving Office after Vote

The Yomiuri Shimbun

12:44 JST, January 27, 2026

Several veteran lawmakers from both the ruling and opposition parties, including former Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, are not running in the current House of Representatives election, for which official campaigning kicked off on Tuesday.

Those from the Liberal Democratic Party who are not seeking reelection include Suga; Former Olympic minister Toshiaki Endo; former Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Tsutomu Sato; and former Foreign Minister Takeaki Matsumoto.

Suga was in office as prime minister from September 2020 to October 2021 after having served as chief cabinet secretary for a record seven years and eight months.

Endo is well-versed in sports administration and previously served as chairperson of the party’s General Council and as its Election Strategy Committee chairperson.

Among opposition parties, Kazuo Shii, chairperson of the Japanese Communist Party Central Committee, is not running. He will instead focus on his duties within the party, aiming to boost its popularity by carrying on the will of his predecessor, Tetsuzo Fuwa, who died last year.