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6d ago

LDP Leadership Vote Heads to Runoff Between Takaichi and Koizumi

The winner must govern without working majorities, likely relying on opposition support to pass budgets.

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Japan's former internal affairs minister Sanae Takaichi delivers a speech at the kick-off of the campaign for the LDP presidential election in Tokyo, Japan, September 22, 2025. Franck Robichon/Pool via REUTERS
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Overview

  • The first round produced no majority, sending the ruling party’s contest to a runoff between Sanae Takaichi and Shinjiro Koizumi.
  • In the second ballot, 295 LDP lawmakers vote again while the grassroots share drops to 47, a dynamic seen as favoring candidates with stronger parliamentary backing.
  • Takaichi champions aggressive state-led spending and has floated revisiting Japan’s investment arrangement with U.S. President Trump, while Koizumi proposes tax cuts and fiscal restraint.
  • All leading candidates prioritized easing living costs and signaled caution about calling an immediate snap general election.
  • The new LDP leader is likely, though not guaranteed, to become prime minister in a mid-October parliamentary vote and will face an early diplomatic test with a possible late-October Trump visit.