Yomiuri Shimbun Survey Finds 21 of 47 LDP Prefectural Chapters Have Decided to Support Early Party Presidential Election

The Yomiuri Shimbun

15:41 JST, September 7, 2025

Twenty-one of the Liberal Democratic Party’s 47 prefectural chapters as of Saturday had officially decided or plan to decide to support holding a party presidential election before Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s term as party leader expires, according to a survey by The Yomiuri Shimbun.

Nine prefectural chapters opposed the early election plan, while the remaining 17 will likely make their decisions on Sunday or Monday.

The chapters’ moves have come under the spotlight, as their decisions could have an influence on party Diet members who have yet to decide whether to support the early election.

On Saturday, the five chapters in Aomori, Yamanashi, Shiga, Osaka and Nara prefectures newly decided to put their support behind the early election plan, and Saitama and Shizuoka prefectures, which had been determined to support the plan, made their decisions official. The Akita prefectural chapter will likely follow suit on Monday.

Also on Saturday, the Fukui, Tokushima, Kagoshima and Okinawa prefectural chapters decided to oppose the plan.

“Diet members who belong to this chapter will abide by its decision,” said Hiroshi Moriyama, chairperson of the Kagoshima prefectural chapter, after his chapter decided to oppose the early election. Moriyama also serves as LDP secretary general.

A total of 161 eligible voters in the party presidential election, including 140 Diet members, have expressed support for the extraordinary election, according to a Yomiuri survey on each LDP Diet member’s stance. The number far exceeds the 50 voters, including 41 Diet members, who opposed the plan.

The party will hold the election early if demanded to do so by 172 voters — more than half the total of 342. If it goes ahead, 295 Diet members from the LDP and representatives of the 47 prefectural chapters will cast ballots.

In the Yomiuri survey, more than 30% of the eligible voters replied that they are undecided or gave no answer.

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