2018 Liberal Democratic Party (Japan) leadership election

A leadership election was held on 20 September 2018 to elect the next president of the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan for a new 3-year term. Incumbent president Shinzo Abe was running for re-election after a rule change in 2017 that allowed him to run for a third term.

Abe's subsequent victory led to him staying as prime minister for just under two years. In this time, on 22 November 2019, he broke the record for the nation's longest-serving prime ministership previously held by Taro Katsura, who had served three times between 1901 and 1913. He also served the longest uninterrupted term by 24 August 2020, ahead of Eisaku Satō's 2,797 days, before resigning four days later.

Scandals
In March 2018, it was revealed that the Finance Ministry (with finance minister Tarō Asō at its head) had falsified documents presented to the parliament in relation to the Moritomo Gakuen scandal, to remove 14 passages implicating Abe. It has been suggested that the scandal could cost Abe his seat as the Liberal Democratic Party's leader. A Kyodo poll showed the Japanese government popularity's has fallen as low as 30% from 44% in February.

Expressed intention but did not have enough votes for nomination

 * Seiko Noda, then-Interior Minister.

Speculative

 * Tarō Kōno, current Foreign Minister. Son of Yōhei Kōno, a former Speaker of the House of Representatives.
 * Tarō Asō, current Finance Minister and former Prime Minister of Japan. Grandson of former Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida.
 * Shinjiro Koizumi, First Vice Secretary-General of the LDP and son of former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.

Declined

 * Fumio Kishida, current chair of the LDP Policy Research Council and former Foreign Minister in the Second and Third Abe Cabinet.