2012 Liberal Democratic Party (Japan) leadership election

A leadership election was held on 26 September 2012 to elect the next president of the Liberal Democratic Party for a new 3-year term.

Background
The leadership election was held on September 26, 2012, when Sadakazu Tanigaki's term of office expired.Three years after last general election, support for the ruling Democratic Party had been weak, and this election had attracted a lot of attention as it was expected to change power in the upcoming general election.

Candidates
At first, it seemed to be a battle centered on the incumbent Tanigaki who showed strong desire for re-election, but as mentioned earlier, it became a presidential election to elect a leading candidate for "next prime minister," so many lawmakers showed their willingness. It was described as a different aspect from the previous factional elections, and "the decline in the power of factions was highlighted".

Results
Ishiba overtook the other candidates to take first place, but failed to win a majority of the votes and ended up in a runoff vote with Abe, the runner-up. As a result of the runoff vote, Abe reversed Ishiba and was elected.