President of the Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)

The president of the Liberal Democratic Party (自由民主党総裁) is the highest-ranking member within the Japanese conservative party, the Liberal Democratic Party. Due to the dominance of the LDP in Japanese politics, all except two (Yohei Kono and Sadakazu Tanigaki) have also been the prime minister of Japan. The current holder of the position is Fumio Kishida, who was elected to the position on 29 September 2021.

Elections
To be a candidate for the president, one must be a LDP member of the National Diet and must receive at least 20 nominations from other LDP members of the National Diet. The LDP selects its leader via a two-round election involving both LDP members of the Diet and dues-paying party members from across Japan. In the first round, all LDP members of the Diet cast one vote while party member votes are translated proportionally into votes equaling the other half of the total ballots. If any candidate wins a majority (over 50%) of votes in the first round, that candidate is elected President.

If no candidate receives a majority of votes in the first round, a runoff is held immediately between the top two candidates. In the runoff, all Diet members vote again while the 47 prefectural chapters of the LDP get one vote each, with the result of the latter votes determined using the first round results of party members in each prefecture. The candidate who wins the most votes in the runoff is then elected President.

The party's secretary-general can decide to organise the election with the rule of the second round only.

Term limits
According to Article 81 of the LDP Constitution, the president's term of office is three years, renewable twice consecutively. Limits have fluctuated over the years since LDP's founding:

Powers
According to the LDP constitution, the president "shall assume supreme responsibility for the Party, and represent and oversee the Party". The president appoints the secretary-general, members of Finance Committee, and the director of the Forward Policy Study Unit, all with the approval of the General Council. The president also appoints the chairpersons of the Party Organization Headquarters, the Public Relations Headquarters, the Policy Research Council the Election Strategy Council, and the Personnel Committee, as well as the director of the Forward Policy Study Unit, all with the approval of the General Council. The president can optionally appoint a vice president with the approval of the Party Convention.

The president convenes and presides over the work of the LDP Board, which includes other high-ranking members of the LDP. With the consent of the General Council, the president annually convenes the Party Convention. The president is ex officio the director-general of the Party's Election Strategy Headquarters, tasked with formulating the LDP's election strategies, and the chancellor of the Central Institute of Politics.