Yoshimura to Remain JIP Leader

Osaka, Feb. 15 (Jiji Press)–Members of the Japan Innovation Party have voted not to hold a leadership election despite the party’s sluggish results in the Feb. 8 parliamentary election, a move that allows Osaka Governor Hirofumi Yoshimura to remain its leader, officials announced Sunday. According to the results of an online vote on whether to hold a leadership race, 619 JIP lawmakers and local assembly members voted against holding the election, compared with 102 who voted in favor. The JIP won 36 seats in the election for the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the Diet, Japan’s parliament, up by only two from its strength before the election, despite a landslide victory by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, its coalition partner. At an executive meeting at the JIP’s headquarters in Osaka, western Japan, Yoshimura described the election results as harsh. “Many of our colleagues have returned to the Diet, so we can move forward united from now on,” he added. The party’s rules stipulate that a leadership election should be held after major national elections or unified local elections, with the decision made by votes from party members in the Diet and local assemblies. At the day’s meeting, executives also discussed the possibility of a JIP lawmaker joining the cabinet of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. “There were no negative opinions,” JIP co-leader Fumitake Fujita told reporters. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]