Tokyo, 2 November, /AJMEDIA/
The chief of Japan’s junior ruling coalition partner Komeito will step down after losing his seat in the lower house election last Sunday.
“The House of Representatives election ended with severe results for us. The responsibility is all in my hands. I have decided to resign,” Keiichi Ishii, who took the post only a month ago, said at a party board meeting.
Komeito is expected to formally appoint a new party chief on Nov 9, with transport minister Tetsuo Saito and Komeito’s policy research council chair Mitsunari Okamoto among the names floated as a possible successor to Ishii.
As Ishii is stepping down during his tenure, no leadership election will be held.
The party, backed by the lay Buddhist organization Soka Gakkai, lost eight of the 32 seats it previously held in the lower house. Ishii is not the first Komeito leader to lose a seat, with Akihiro Ota also failing to win reelection to parliament in 2009.
