Following the resounding victory of Abe and the LDP in the 2012 general election, in which the NRP failed to win a single seat, Masuzoe announced in June 2013 that he would not stand for re-election in the July 2013 House of Councillors election, stating that "I have done the best I could for nearly three years, but I was unable to boost [the party's] strength." After the election, Hiroyuki Arai was elected president of the NRP on July 22.