Centrist Reform Alliance Launches New Leadership Team

Tokyo, Feb. 18 (Jiji Press)–The Centrist Reform Alliance launched its new leadership team on Wednesday, as the Japanese opposition party seeks to rebuild unity after suffering a rout in the Feb. 8 general election. Junya Ogawa, who was elected the centrist party’s leader last week, named Takeshi Shina, who competed with Ogawa in the party leadership election, as secretary-general. Shina, a former member of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, will double as campaign strategy chief. Mitsunari Okamoto, a former member of Komeito, was appointed as policy chief. Prior to the general election, the centrist party united then House of Representatives members from the CDP and Komeito. However, its share in the Lower House tumbled from 172 seats to 49 seats in the election. On Wednesday, the leadership appointments were approved at a general meeting of party lawmakers. “This is the first step to rebuilding a main opposition party that attracts citizens and gives them hope,” Ogawa said. Ogawa also indicated that the party leadership will soon hold hearings with unsuccessful election candidates from the party. The new leadership team includes acting party leader Kanae Yamamoto, a former Komeito member, and parliamentary affairs chief Kazuhiko Shigetoku, a former CDP policy chief. Yoshihiko Noda and Tetsuo Saito became party advisers after resigning as co-leaders to take responsibility for the election defeat. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]