By SHINKAI KAWABE/ Staff Writer
November 2, 2024 at 16:57 JST
Transport minister Tetsuo Saito is set to become the new head of junior coalition partner Komeito. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
Junior ruling coalition partner Komeito looks set to tap transport minister Tetsuo Saito to reverse its political fortunes.
Saito, 72, will be formally selected as the new party leader at a special party convention to be held on Nov. 9, according to several party sources.
He will replace Keiichi Ishii, 66, who stepped down after failing to win re-election in the Oct. 27 Lower House election. Ishii took over as party head in September, succeeding Natsuo Yamaguchi who held the post for 15 years.
Saito has been elected to the Lower House 11 times. He served as environment minister under Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda in 2008 and also served as Komeito secretary-general for about two years from 2018.
Saito has served as transport minister since 2021 when Fumio Kishida became prime minister.
He will face a difficult task turning Komeito’s fortunes around as the party for the first time gained less than 6 million votes in the proportional representation part of the Lower House election. Overall, Komeito lost eight seats in the election.
An Upper House election as well as the Tokyo metropolitan assembly election will be held in 2025, so Saito will have his hands full trying to resuscitate Komeito.
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