Japan opposition leader resigns after electoral disappointment

Tokyo, Nov 2 (EFE).- Yukio Edano, Japan’s main opposition party leader, announced his resignation Tuesday after disappointment following last week’s general election results, which saw the outgoing prime minister re-elected.

The Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan won 96 seats in the Lower House of parliament, below the 110 it had in the previous government despite having joined forces with four other progressive opposition forces.

“We worked to form a government, but what we got was a disappointing result,” Edano said at a meeting of his party’s executive held Tuesday.

“I apologize for my inability to lead the party,” added the politician, who said he would assume responsibility by handing over his position as head of the party, which he had been leading since 2017.

Edano was known and respected by the Japanese for being the most visible face and the government spokesman during the Fukushima nuclear crisis of 2011, under the executive of the defunct Democratic Party.

The 57-year-old politician founded the current party with progressive parliamentarians from the Democratic Party and other forces, but this formation has failed to challenge the dominance the conservative Liberal Democratic Party has enjoyed since late 2012.

Tetsuro Fukuyama, the opposition’s general secretary, also said he would resign Tuesday, while the party plans to call a primary after the extraordinary parliamentary session to be held next week.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s party won 261 seats out of 465 in the Lower House in Sunday’s elections, achieving a comfortable majority along with his government partner, the Buddhist Komeito party, as well as the fourth consecutive term for the conservative formation.

This party has ruled Japan almost uninterruptedly since 1955, with the only exceptions coming in 1993-1996 and 2009-2012. EFE

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