2009 Democratic Party of Japan leadership election

The 2009 Democratic Party of Japan leadership election was held on 16 May 2009. The election was held to replace outgoing president Ichirō Ozawa, who resigned in early May after being implicated in a corruption scandal. With an election looming later in the year, his successor would become the party's candidate for Prime Minister.^[1]

Yukio Hatoyama was elected leader with 124 votes against opponent Katsuya Okada, who won 95 votes.^[2] Hatoyama went on to win the August general election and become Prime Minister.

Ozawa became president of the DPJ in 2006 and was re-elected twice unopposed in September 2006 and September 2008. During his tenure, he forged alliances with other minor opposition parties, and carried the party to victory in the 2007 upper house election, a major blow to the ruling Liberal Democratic Party. The government had struggled since the departure of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, and by 2009 the DPJ was ahead in the polls and stood a good chance of taking power for the first time in that year's general election.

In March, Ozawa's personal secretary was arrested over allegations that he had accepted 35 million yen in illegal donations from the Nishimatsu construction firm. Ozawa denied knowledge or involvement, but came under scrutiny and public pressure. By May, 70% of voters believed he could no longer remain leader. He announced his resignation on 12 May.^[1]

Katsuya Okada, Seiji Maehara, Yukio Hatoyama, and Naoto Kan were considered potential candidates. Of these, Hatoyama and Kan were understood to be closer to Ozawa's course, while Okada and Maehara were reformers.^[1]

On the day of Ozawa's resignation, the party executive met to discuss how the contest should be conducted. Akira Nagatsuma and deputy chairman Toshimi Kitazawa, along with Yoshihiko Noda, Jun Azumi, and Tetsuro Fukuyama, favoured expanding the election to include the party grassroots and approved candidates for the upcoming election. They were strongly rebuked by outgoing president Ozawa. Yoko Komiyama and Sumio Mabuchi also suggested holding the leadership election the following week, instead of on Saturday as proposed, in order to "listen to local voices." However, the executive voted to limit the vote to Diet members only and stick to the short timeframe. The Sankei Shimbun quoted internal party critics who accused Ozawa of manipulating the process to maintain control and ensure his favoured candidate, which was believed to be Hatoyama, was successful.^[3][4]

Hatoyama and Okada both announced their candidacies on the 13th and officially nominated on the 14th.^[5] Ozawa's faction and members associated with the former JSP and DSP were understood to be backing Hatoyama, while Okada was supported by the Maehara and Noda factions and part of Naoto Kan's faction.^[3][4][6] Polling by the Mainichi Shimbun indicated that Okada was preferred by voters by a margin of 25% to 13%, while a survey of lawmakers by The Nikkei found that almost half backed Hatoyama compared to 30% for Okada.^[7]

Hatoyama pledged unity and said he would appoint both Ozawa and Okada to key positions, while acknowledging that Ozawa must do more to explain his scandals to the public. Okada attracted some criticism for agreeing with Prime Minister Tarō Asō that a rise in the consumption tax may be necessary in the future, a stance opposed by Hatoyama and Ozawa.^[2][4]