2015 Democratic Party (Japan, 1998) leadership election explained

Election Name:	2015 Democratic Party leadership election
Flag Image:	Democratic Party of Japan Logo.svg
Type:	presidential
Vote Type:	Caucus
Ongoing:	no
Previous Election:	December 2012 Democratic Party (Japan) leadership election
Previous Year:	Dec 2012
Next Election:	2016 Democratic Party (Japan) leadership election
Next Year:	2016
Election Date:	18 January 2015
1Blank:	First round points
2Blank:	Second round points
Candidate1:	Katsuya Okada
Colour1:	E60000
1Data1:	294 (38.68%)
2Data1:	133 (52.57%)
Candidate2:	Goshi Hosono
Colour2:	E60000
1Data2:	298 (39.21%)
2Data2:	120 (47.43%)
Candidate3:	Akira Nagatsuma
Colour3:	E60000
1Data3:	168 (22.11%)
2Data3:	Eliminated
President
Before Election:	Banri Kaieda
After Election:	Katsuya Okada

The 18th Democratic Party of Japan presidential election was held on January 18, 2015.^[1] The election was held to replace outgoing president Banri Kaieda who resigned after losing his seat in the December 2014 general election. Acting president Katsuya Okada won the election after two rounds of voting, returning to the position he held from 2004 until 2005.^[2] ^[3]

Candidates

3 candidates ran in the leadership election:

Goshi Hosono, former secretary general of the DPJ.^[1]
Katsuya Okada, ex-party president (2004–05) and Minister of Foreign Affairs (2009–10).^[4]
Akira Nagatsuma, former health, labor and welfare minister.^[5]

Results

1st round


Total points	Caucus	Endorsed candidates	Local councillors	Party members & supporters
Goshi Hosono	298pts (39.21%)	48 (96pts)	0	649 (63pts)	41,563 (139pts)
Katsuya Okada	294pts (38.68%)	47 (94pts)	1 (1pt)	532 (51pts)	41,079 (148pts)
	168pts (22.11%)	37 (74pts)	0	284 (27pts)	21,348 (67pts)
Invalid votes	-	0	0	2	523
Total	760pts (100%)	132 (264pts)	1 (1pt)	1,467 (141pts)	104,513 (354pts)

This is the first time that the local councillors and members votes outweigh the caucus votes in a DPJ presidential election. In order to win, a candidate must obtain more than 50% of the points. Each caucus (consisting of DPJ Diet members) member vote carry 2 points. A prospective candidate for the 2016 House of Councillors election was also allowed to vote, with his vote carrying 1 point. Local and regional DPJ councillors altogether carried 141 points, while rank-and-file supporters and members accounted for 354 votes or almost a half of total 760 points. Turnout among supporters and members was recorded at 46.21% and 90.06% of councillors participated in the voting.

As no candidates obtained a majority in the 1st round, the election headed to a runoff between the top two candidates, Hosono and Okada.

2nd round


Total points	Caucus	Endorsed candidates
Katsuya Okada	133pt (52.57%)	66 (132pt)	1 (1pt)
Goshi Hosono	120pt (47.43%)	60 (120pt)	0
Abstentions	-	4	0
Invalid votes	-	2	0
Total	253pts (100%)	132 (252pts)	1 (1pt)

In the runoff, only the caucus and the prospective 2016 candidate were voting.

Katsuya Okada garnered 133 points in the 2nd round, winning the election.

External links

Democratic Party: Past elections for the party presidency
The Senkyo, election dictionary: Democratic Party presidential elections

Notes and References

The Japan Times, December 17, 2014: Former secretary-general Hosono to run for DPJ leader
The Japan Times, January 18, 2015: Okada defeats Hosono to win DPJ presidential election
The Japan News (Yomiuri Shimbun), January 18, 2015: Okada takes DPJ presidency in runoff
The Japan Times, January 7, 2015: Former leader Okada to seek DPJ’s presidency again
The Japan Times, December 25, 2014: DPJ leadership campaign begins, with three candidates running