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1st LD: Acting Chief Okada wins DPJ presidential election

Xinhua, January 18, 2015 Adjust font size:

Acting Chief Katsuyu Okada became the new leader of Japan's largest opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) by beating Goshi Hosono in the party's presidential run-off vote on Sunday.

In the first round of vote, former secretary general of DPJ Hosono led Okada by four points, but none of the three candidates, also including former health minister Akira Nagatsuma, got a majority of votes. Thus a run-off vote between Hosono and Okada was held immediately.

Okada, 61, defeated 43-year-old Hosono by a slim margin at last, becoming the successor of Banri Kaieda, who lost his seat in the House of Representatives election last month.

The new leader, whose term lasts until September 2017, is tasked with resurrecting the party in the face of overwhelming dominance by the Liberal Democratic Party in parliament.

Okada used to be the Deputy Prime Minister of Japan from January to December 2012 under the DPJ presidency. He is the second son of Takuya Okada, who is a co-founder of AEON Group, one of Japan's largest retailers.

Okada has offered a 300-day program to reform the party and a plan to demand that Abe's Cabinet rescind its decision to give the Self-Defense Forces a greater role overseas. Endi