October 2017 Democratic Party (Japan, 2016) leadership election explained

Election Name:	October 2017 Democratic Party leadership election
Country:	Japan
Type:	presidential
Vote Type:	Caucus
Ongoing:	no
Previous Election:	September 2017 Democratic Party (Japan, 2016) leadership election
Previous Year:	Sep 2017
Election Date:	31 October 2017
1Blank:	Votes
Image1:	Kōhei Ōtsuka (cropped).jpg
Image1 Size:	126px
Candidate1:	Kohei Otsuka
Colour1:	004098
1Data1:	Unopposed
President
Before Election:	Seiji Maehara
After Election:	Kohei Otsuka

The October 2017 Democratic Party held a presidential election on 31 October 2017 to choose a replacement for the previous president Seiji Maehara. Maehara resigned on 30 October 2017 after the failure of his election strategy in the 2017 general election.

Kohei Otsuka was the only candidate in the race and therefore was elected as the new president unopposed.^[1]

Candidates

Running

• Kohei Otsuka, member of House of Councillors for Aichi and former vice minister in the Hatoyama and Kan administration.

Potential

• Renhō, member of the House of Councillors for Tokyo, former party president (2016–2017) and cabinet minister.^[2]
• Toshio Ogawa, member of the House of Councillors for Tokyo and former Minister of Justice (2012).

Results

As Otsuka was the only candidate, there was no vote held and he was elected unopposed.

Notes and References

1. News: Democratic Party selects Otsuka as new party president. Asahi Shimbun. Taro. Saito. 31 October 2017. 17 January 2018.
2. News: Japan's opposition Democrats pick new chief to start rebuilding. Nikkei Asian Review. 1 November 2017. 17 January 2018.