In the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) presidential election held on October 4, former Minister for Economic Security Sanae Takaichi (64) defeated Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Shinjiro Koizumi in a runoff vote and was elected as the party’s 29th president. It is the first time a woman has assumed the leadership of the LDP. She is expected to be elected as Japan’s 104th prime minister at an extraordinary Diet session scheduled to be convened on the 15th.
This election was held to choose the successor to Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who resigned following consecutive defeats in national elections. Five candidates ran for the position. A total of 590 votes were contested—295 from LDP lawmakers and 295 distributed proportionally from more than 600,000 party members and supporters nationwide. As no candidate secured a majority in the first round, a runoff vote was held between Takaichi and Koizumi.
In the final round, Takaichi won with 149 votes from lawmakers and 36 votes from prefectural chapters, surpassing Koizumi in both categories. After her victory, Takaichi stated, “We have marked a new era for the Liberal Democratic Party,” and expressed her determination to work toward rebuilding the party “through the participation of all members.”

10月4日に行われた自民党総裁選で、高市早苗前経済安全保障担当相（64）が小泉進次郎農林水産相との決選投票を制し、第29代総裁に選出された。女性が自民党総裁に就くのは初めてで、15日にも召集予定の臨時国会で第104代内閣総理大臣に選ばれる見通しだ。今回の選挙は、国政選挙での連敗により辞任した石破茂首相の後任を決めるもので、5人が立候補。党所属国会議員295票と全国の党員・党友票を合わせた計590票で争われ、過半数に届かず決選投票に持ち越された。最終的に高市氏は国会議員149票、都道府県連36票を獲得して勝利した。高市氏は「自民党の新しい時代を刻んだ」と述べ、党再建に向け「全員参加で取り組みたい」と意欲を示した。