Overview
- Sato, 73, a ten-term lawmaker from the North Kanto proportional bloc, has decided not to run again and plans to formally announce his retirement next week at a press conference in Tochigi.
- A close ally of former prime minister Yoshihide Suga, Sato previously served as internal affairs minister and the LDP’s Diet affairs chief and currently heads the party’s accounting bureau.
- Takagi, 70, a former LDP Diet affairs chief linked to the old Abe faction’s “group of five,” told supporters in Tsuruga on January 15 that he will not seek a seat in the coming general election.
- Takagi had over ¥10 million omitted from political funding reports tied to a slush-money scandal, received a six‑month party suspension, and lost in 2024 after running without LDP endorsement to the CDP’s Hideyuki Tsuji.
- With Takagi stepping aside in Fukui’s 2nd district, Ken Yamamoto, a prefectural assembly member and son of former MP Taku Yamamoto, and sitting MP Takeshi Saiki have declared intentions and filed for LDP endorsement with the prefectural chapter.