Following the landslide victory of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in Japan’s February 2026 snap election, so-called political groups (seisaku shudan) have become increasingly active. These groups have clustered around members of former LDP factions, most of which were dissolved following the 2023–24 LDP slush fund scandal. Their rise suggests that the LDP is returning to old intra-party patterns without addressing the issue of money in politics.
Prior to their dissolution, LDP factions were organised groups of LDP lawmakers that competed for internal power and were loyal to a particular senior LDP leader seeking the party presidency and prime ministership. Factions performed several functions, from distributing funding to training first-time lawmakers. Following Japan’s 1994 electoral reform, which abolished the single non-transferable vote, there was intense debate regarding their viability.
Yet the institution remained largely intact until the 2023–24 slush fund scandal, when several LDP factions were found to have underreported political fundraising income. At the height of the scandal, when support for the LDP plummeted to a record low of 14.6 per cent, dissolving factions became a matter of political survival.
