TOKYO: Komeito, the junior party in Japan’s ruling coalition, plans to appoint land minister Tetsuo Saito as its next leader, informed sources said Saturday.

Saito, 72, is expected to be informally picked as Komeito leader by the party leadership on Thursday, before being formally elected at an extraordinary party convention on Nov. 9, according to the sources.

He will succeed Keiichi Ishii, who became Komeito head only on Sept. 28 but announced his resignation on Thursday after losing his seat in Sunday’s election for the House of Representatives, the all-important lower chamber of the country’s parliament.

The party hopes to rebuild itself swiftly under the veteran Saito. Although tapping the oldest lawmaker in the party to take the helm runs counter the trend of selecting younger leaders, Komeito determined that his experience is necessary ahead of elections for the Tokyo metropolitan assembly and the House of Councillors, the upper parliamentary chamber, both slated for next summer, the sources said.

The 11-term Lower House lawmaker has served in key party posts such as policy chief and secretary-general as well as the position of environment minister. He has served as land minister since the launch of the cabinet led by former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in 2021.

In Sunday’s Lower House election, Komeito reduced its seat total by eight from before the race to 24.

The party fielded 11 candidates for single-seat constituencies, but seven of them, including Ishii, lost. It only garnered 5.96 million proportional representation votes, falling below 6 million for the first time.

Komeito is expected to retain Secretary-General Makoto Nishida in his post.
JIJI Press