The

Social Democratic Party of Japan The is a political party in Japan that was established in 1996. Since its reformation and name change in 1996, it has advocated pacifism and defined itself as a social-democratic party. It was previously known as the . The party was refounded ...

held a leadership election to choose the successor to

Tadatomo Yoshida is a Japanese politician. He was first elected in 2010 House of Councillors election. He previously served as a prefectural assembly member in Ōita Prefecture. He ran for the Chairmanship of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and defeated Tok ...

, who declined to run for another term. Secretary-General

Seiji Mataichi is a Japanese politician and previously was a member of the House of Councillors. He is the former Chairman of the Social Democratic Party. External links Official websitein Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to ...

was the only candidate running for the post, and therefore was elected unopposed. Mataichi was inaugurated into his 2-year term at the conclusion of the party conference on 25 February 2018.

Summary

Contrary to initial prediction, incumbent

declined to run for another term as SDP leader, citing the need for the next leader to be an elected SDP lawmaker. As no one filed their candidacy before the original 12 January deadline, the submission deadline was extended to 26 January. In the ensuing weeks, party members pushed for one of its lawmakers to step in. It was anticipated that either Secretary-General

or the party's most junior lawmaker Hajime Yoshikawa would run for the leadership. Incumbent SDP lawmakers and Yoshida's supporters in the prefectural government in his native Ōita also urged Yoshida to rethink his decision and run for re-election, but he declined. Following further consultations among SDP leaders, the party decided to support

to run as the next party leader. Mataichi's candidacy was officially endorsed by the party's three other lawmakers,

Mizuho Fukushima is a Japanese politician, attorney. A native of Nobeoka, Miyazaki, she has been a member of the House of Councillors since 1998, was re-elected in 2004 and 2010, and was the head of the Social Democratic Party of Japan (SDP), from 2003 to 2013. ...

, Kantoku Teruya and Hajime Yoshikawa. Mataichi submitted his candidacy on 26 January and was chosen unopposed as the next leader.

Schedule

*~~12 January (postponed)~~ 26 January: Deadline for submitting candidacies *~~27–28 January (postponed)~~ 10–11 February: Voting *~~29 January (postponed)~~ 12 February: Counting of votes * 24 February: Party convention; declaration of election winner * 24 February: Term as leader starts

Candidates

Running

, secretary-general of the party and current member of the

House of Councillors The is the upper house of the National Diet of Japan. The House of Representatives is the lower house. The House of Councillors is the successor to the pre-war House of Peers. If the two houses disagree on matters of the budget, treaties, or ...

(2001–).

Declined

, incumbent party leader and former member of the

(2010–2016). * Hajime Yoshikawa, deputy secretary-general of the party and current member of the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

(2012–).

Results

As Mataichi was the only candidate, there was no vote held and he was elected unopposed.

References

{{reflist 2018 elections in Japan Political party leadership elections in Japan February 2018 events in Japan Social Democratic Party (Japan) leadership election