2013 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

Changes and Continuity of LDP Leadership Selection Process during the 2000s

Research Project

Project/Area Number	23730142
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
Allocation Type	Multi-year Fund
Research Field	Politics
Research Institution	Kochi University
Principal Investigator	UEKAMI Takayoshi 高知大学, 教育研究部人文社会科学系, 准教授 (30376628)
Project Period (FY)	2011 – 2013
Keywords	政治学 / 現代日本政治論 / 政治制度 / 政党研究 / 自民党 / 総裁選
Research Abstract	The leadership selection process of Japan's LDP has experienced rapid and far-reaching changes during the 2000s. Not only the factions of diet members, but also the rank-and-file party members are now included as participants in the process. This research aims to explain the causal mechanism and the effects of these changes. In conclusion, the 1994 electoral reform opened up the leadership selection process: the importance of leader images and the LDP organizational decline under SMD system accelerated the transformation of the selection process. In addition, the candidates for the LDP leadership become younger, have less experiences, and tend to be chosen from the urban constituencies as a result of these changes.

(3 results)