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Japan's new opposition party leader picks ex-PM Noda as party's No. 2

Xinhua, September 16, 2016 Adjust font size:

The newly-elected leader of Japan's main opposition Democratic Party, Renho, on Friday picked former Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda to serve as the party's secretary general.

Noda will take over the portfolio from Yukio Edano who previously served as the party's No. 2.

Noda's proposal and approval was made at a meeting of party lawmakers on Friday, just one day after Renho, a TV anchor-turned-politician, became the first female to head the party.

Renho said the unprecedented selection of a former prime minister to serve as secretary general would mean that Noda had a precise understanding of parliamentary dealings and would be well placed to go head-to-head with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Renho also said she felt it would be beneficial to have a lower house lawmaker hold this position, stating, "Debate begins in the House of Representatives, and I understand well the weight of the debate there."

Renho herself serves in the less powerful House of Councillors.

Noda who accepted the position said on Friday that while he felt some trepidation as he was prime minister when his party lost power, he would fight for former lawmakers who also lost in the elections.

Noda is now serving his seventh term in the lower house after being elected in 1993. He took the top spot in Sept. 2011 after serving as finance minister while his party was in power.

The Democratic Party of Japan, as it was known then, lost the lower house election in 2012, which saw the Liberal Democratic Power reestablish its grip on power. Enditem