Shina, Ogawa Run for Leadership of Centrist Reform Alliance

Tokyo, Feb. 12 (Jiji Press)–Takeshi Shina and Junya Ogawa, former members of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, on Thursday filed their candidacies for Friday’s leadership election of the Centrist Reform Alliance, which was formed last month by the CDP and Komeito. The voting will be held at a general meeting of the opposition party’s lawmakers. The main focal point of the election will be how each candidate intends to pave the way for recovery of the party amid smoldering voices questioning its very survival following its significant defeat in Sunday’s election for the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the Diet, the country’s parliament. Shina, 59, a former parliamentary vice minister for internal affairs and communications, and Ogawa, 54, a former secretary-general of the CDP, held a joint press conference at the party headquarters on Thursday. Shina said the preferential placement of former Komeito members on the proportional representation candidate lists for the Lower House should be reviewed, arguing it “ought to rest on principle of equality.” Ogawa said that he intends to run the party “on the premise that all party members are equal.” Both men underscored a cautious stance toward any move by members of the House of Councillors, the upper chamber of the Diet, who remain in the CDP and Komeito to join the Centrist Reform Alliance, currently consisted only of Lower House members. The leadership race follows the resignations of party co-leaders Yoshihiko Noda and Tetsuo Saito, who stepped down to take responsibility for the election loss. With a special Diet session set to be convened on Wednesday, the new leader will be chosen solely by the votes of 49 Diet members belonging to the party. Given the sharp decrease in the number of the party’s lawmakers, stemming from the major defeat in the Lower House election, no recommendations were required for candidacy. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]