December 2002 Democratic Party of Japan leadership election

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December 2002 Democratic Party of Japan leadership election
← Sep 2002 10 December 2002 May 2004 →
 
Candidate Naoto Kan Katsuya Okada
Caucus vote 104 79
Percentage 56.8% 43.2%
Previous President

Yukio Hatoyama

 Elected President

Naoto Kan

The December 2002 Democratic Party of Japan leadership election was held on 10 December 2002. The election was held to replace outgoing president Yukio Hatoyama, who resigned following the party's losses in the October national by-elections.[1] Former president Naoto Kan defeated Katsuya Okada by an unexpectedly wide margin.[2]

Background

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Yukio Hatoyama was narrowly re-elected to a third term as president less than three months earlier in September, but immediately faced difficulties. His appointment of Kansei Nakano as party secretary-general was widely criticised as a reward for his support in the election, widening party divisions.[3] Hatoyama was further damaged when Yoshihiko Noda, candidate of junior reformers in the contest, rejected the post of party policy chief.[4] Just a week after the election, Seiji Maehara and Shigefumi Matsuzawa stated that they would hold the president responsible if the party failed to perform in the October by-elections.[5][6]

In the by-elections on 27 October, the DPJ won just one of the seven contests.[7] In late November, Hatoyama proposed forming a joint parliamentary group between the DPJ, the Liberal Party, and SDP, which was criticised as hasty, unrealistic, and announced without party consultation.[8][9] By this time, he was under intense pressure to resign.[10]

Hatoyama announced his resignation on 3 December.[8]

Candidates

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Candidate Offices held
Naoto Kan
(age 56)
Tokyo		 Member of the House of Representatives (1980–)
President of the Democratic Party of Japan (1996–99)
Minister of Health and Welfare (1996)
Katsuya Okada
(age 49)
Mie Prefecture		 Member of the House of Representatives (1990–)

Results

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Candidate Votes %
Naoto Kan 104 56.8
Katsuya Okada 79 43.2
Total 183 100.0
Invalid 0
Turnout 183 100.0
Eligible 183
Source: DPJ Archive

References

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  1. ^ "Frozen politics". The Economist. 5 December 2002.
  2. ^ "Uniting a divided party". The Japan Times. 12 December 2002. Archived from the original on 20 October 2021.
  3. ^ "Hatoyama taps Nakano as DPJ secretary general". The Japan Times. 25 September 2002. Archived from the original on 8 January 2019.
  4. ^ "Noda rejects offer of DPJ policy post". The Japan Times. 26 September 2002.
  5. ^ "DPJ power struggle to continue". The Japan Times. 30 September 2002. Archived from the original on 8 January 2019.
  6. ^ "Disunity in the DPJ". The Japan Times. 7 October 2002. Archived from the original on 13 April 2022.
  7. ^ "Hatoyama may quit as DPJ leader". The Japan Times. 26 November 2002.
  8. ^ a b "DPJ must assess its crisis". The Japan Times. 5 December 2002. Archived from the original on 27 October 2021.
  9. ^ "Opposition bloc idea popular but may be doomed". The Japan Times. 28 November 2002. Archived from the original on 19 January 2022.
  10. ^ "Hatoyama considering resignation". The Japan Times. 30 November 2002.