The registration process for the Liberal Democratic Party's presidential election began in Tokyo on September 12, with nine politicians officially registering their candidacies at LDP headquarters. The candidates include prominent figures such as Sanae Takaichi, Yoshimasa Hayashi, Shinjiro Koizumi, and Taro Kono among others, showcasing a crowded and diverse field.
In this election, votes will be collected from party lawmakers as well as rank-and-file party members, with a total of 367 ballots from Diet members and another 1 million or so local members and allies. The significance of local votes is emphasized, as the views of local politicians are believed to better represent public opinion, potentially influencing the voting behavior of Diet members.
The election process includes a runoff if no candidate secures a majority in the first round, where each Diet member's vote is counted as one vote, whereas only one vote is allocated to each LDP prefectural branch in the runoff. The decision-making process for the presidency in the LDP has seen changes over the years, with adjustments made after the 2012 election won by Shinzo Abe due to concerns about reflecting the will of local party members.