Temporary Conference on the 9th Appoints Saito Tetsuo as Representative
Heavy Defeat in House of Representatives Election... Ishii Resigns as Representative
The Komeito Party, which has formed a coalition government with Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), has changed its leader after about 40 days.
According to Kyodo News and NHK, on the 9th, at an extraordinary party convention held in Tokyo, Tetsuo Saito, Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, officially took office as the new leader of the Komeito Party.
Previously, on September 28, the Komeito Party appointed former lawmaker Keiichi Ishii as the successor to Natsuo Yamaguchi, who had served as leader for 15 years. However, in the House of Representatives election held on the 27th of last month, the Komeito Party's number of seats decreased from 32 to 24, and former leader Ishii lost his seat to an opposition candidate.
Taking responsibility for the election defeat, former leader Ishii decided to step down, and a new leadership team led by Saito took office that day. Leader Saito is an 11-term member of the House of Representatives and has served as Komeito Party secretary-general and Minister of the Environment.
He stated, "In the House of Representatives election, we were unable to demonstrate sufficient independence to counter the backlash caused by the (LDP's) political funding issues. If we unite and rise again, it will lead to a counteroffensive."
Rooted in the Japanese religious organization Soka Gakkai, the Komeito Party has participated as a coalition partner in the LDP-led government for 12 years since the LDP regained power from the Democratic Party in 2012.
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