Overview
- Official notice on March 4 confirmed three candidates: incumbent Mizuho Fukushima, vice leader Lasalle Ishii, and former Upper House member Yuko Otsubaki.
- Voting will be held by prefectural chapters on March 21–22, with counting scheduled for March 23.
- The party frames the race around strategies to rebuild after winning no seats in February’s Lower House election.
- Only Fukushima and Ishii currently hold seats in the National Diet for the SDP, underscoring the party’s weakened position.
- The leader’s term is two years, and about 5,200 party and cooperating members each cast one equal vote; Ishii announced his bid in a March 3 video on X emphasizing a more open, peace-focused image.