Takaichi Launches New LDP Leadership Team

Tokyo, Oct. 7 (Jiji Press)–Sanae Takaichi, new president of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party, launched the LDP’s new leadership team Tuesday. Takaichi named former Prime Minister Taro Aso, 85, as LDP vice president, and General Council Chairman Shunichi Suzuki, 72, as secretary-general. Haruko Arimura, 55, former minister in charge of measures to boost the birthrate, was appointed General Council chair. Former economic security minister Takayuki Kobayashi, 50, who ran against Takaichi in Saturday’s LDP presidential election, was given the post of chairman of the Policy Research Council. Former National Public Safety Commission Chairman Keiji Furuya, 72, who headed the group of LDP lawmakers backing Takaichi in the election, was appointed chairman of the LDP’s Election Strategy Committee. At a meeting of the LDP’s General Council, Takaichi, who was elected LDP president in Saturday’s leadership poll, said, “I will work diligently with the desire to transform anxieties about current living conditions and the future into hope and dreams.” Aso said, “I want to strive for party unity and the revival of the LDP.” END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]