Changes and Continuity of LDP Leadership Selection Process during the 2000s

日本自民党的领导人选举过程在2000年代经历了迅速而深远的变化。 现在不仅国会议员的派系，而且普通党员也被纳入这一进程。 本研究旨在解释这些变化的因果机制和影响。 总之，1994年选举改革开放了领导人的选拔过程：领导人形象的重要性和自民党组织在SMD制度下的衰落加速了选拔过程的转变。 此外，由于这些变化，自民党领导人的候选人变得更年轻，经验更少，并且倾向于从城市选区中选择。

The leadership selection process of Japan's LDP has experienced rapid and far-reaching changes during the 2000s. Not only the factions of diet members, but also the rank-and-file party members are now included as participants in the process. This research aims to explain the causal mechanism and the effects of these changes. In conclusion, the 1994 electoral reform opened up the leadership selection process: the importance of leader images and the LDP organizational decline under SMD system accelerated the transformation of the selection process. In addition, the candidates for the LDP leadership become younger, have less experiences, and tend to be chosen from the urban constituencies as a result of these changes.