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The1999 Liberal Democratic Party presidential election took place on 21 September 1999 to elect the leader andpresident of the Japanese Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).
The election was held following the expiration of the 1997 LDP presidential election (whereRyutaro Hashimoto was re-elected unopposed).Keizō Obuchi, who had been first elected in the 1998 LDP presidential election, strongly desired unopposed re-election. He particularly sought to appeaseKoichi Kato, who had recently inherited the Kato faction, by hinting at being his successor. However, Kato ignored his appeal and ran alongside his ally andTaku Yamasaki, chairman of the Yamasaki faction. Kato, already considered a leading candidate for the future presidency, saw this as an ideal opportunity to demonstrate his support for Obuchi. Although he had anticipated losing, he actively promoted a "refreshing policy debate" in the hope of establishing a party-wide coalition following the election.
Obuchi won as expected, but Obuchi never forgave Kato for running against him and severely undermined the Kato faction in his subsequent appointments. This led to the Kato Rebellion the following year.[1] On the other hand, theSeiwa Seisaku Kenkyūkai (Mori faction), whose chairman,Yoshirō Mori, had supported Obuchi asLDP Secretary-General, quickly withdrew from the race and supported Obuchi. Following this,Junichiro Koizumi, who had run in the previous two presidential elections, also withdrew. When Obuchi fell ill the following year, the prime ministerial position fell to Mori, who continued as secretary-general. During the "Kato Rebellion," Koizumi, who supported Mori as faction chairman, suppressed the rebellion and ultimately became prime minister himself in 2001.
As such, this presidential election contained several important foreshadowings of future political developments. It wasShinzo Abe, a young politician with only two election wins at the time, who strongly urged Mori, the faction chairman, to run. Abe later recalled with a wry smile that he was young himself, saying, "If Mori had run against him, as we young people demanded, he might not have become the next prime minister. Kato, who ran at that time, ultimately did not become prime minister".[2]
| Candidate | Total votes | Diet vote | Membership vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| Keizō Obuchi | 350 | 253 | 97 |
| Koichi Kato | 113 | 85 | 28 |
| Taku Yamasaki | 51 | 33 | 18 |
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