elected president of the LDP in 2001, and named Yamasaki to serve as its Secretary-General, the second most powerful leader in the party. Yamasaki was a vocal supporter of Koizumi's reform efforts, which targeted the LDP's traditional pork barrel constituencies. Despite his prominence in the national party, Yamasaki faced close battles in his district in the 1996 election and the 2000 election. His district in urban Fukuoka Prefecture, with an electorate that frequently moved in and out of the region for work, was a favorable battleground for opposition candidates. Scandals and electoral defeat In September 2002, Yamasaki's fundraising office was reported to have passed donations from construction companies to Yasushi Kaneko, an independent lawmaker supporting the Kawabe Dam project in Kumamoto Prefecture. In April 2003, Kanako Yamada alleged before a press conference of over 100 reporters that she had been "Yamasaki's mistress for a decade," and stated that Yamasaki "never regards women as human beings." Yamasaki attempted to stop Yamada through a defamation lawsuit, but one of his lawsuits was rejected on the basis that the story was true. Following the Yamada revelations, Yamasaki became Vice President of the LDP, and was replaced as Secretary-General by Shinzo Abe. In the November 2003 election, Yamasaki was defeated by Jun'ichirō Koga of the Democratic Party, and subsequently resigned from the vice-presidency of the LDP. Koga himself then encountered a scandal due to revelations that he had misrepresented his academic background. Yamasaki considered running in the 2004 House of Councillors election, but decided to keep his sights on returning to his previous constituency in the next election. Final term in House of Representatives Koga resigned in September 2004, and Yamasaki declared his candidacy for the by-election held in April 2005. Yamasaki won the by-election with support from Prime Minister Koizumi, who visited Fukuoka twice to campaign for Yamasaki. Yamasaki, Shinzō Abe, and Foreign Minister Tarō Asō were all considered candidates to replace Koizumi after Koizumi's term expired in September 2006. Abe was elected Prime Minister on 26 September 2006. In the run-up to the 2009 general election, Yamasaki and Kato considered forming a new party to challenge the beleaguered LDP, and had discussions with both Shizuka Kamei and Ichiro Ozawa. Yamasaki remained with the LDP, and was defeated as the LDP suffered a crushing loss nationally. He was unable to run as a PR list candidate in the 2010 House of Councillors election