JAPAN / Politics

Tanigaki gets nod as LDP No. 2; hawkish Inada named party policy chief

Newly appointed Liberal Democratic Party executives — General Council Chairman Toshihiro Nikai (left), Secretary-General Sadakazu Tanigaki (second from left), Vice President Masahiko Komura (center), Policy Research Council head Tomomi Inada (second from right) and Election Strategy Committee Chairman Toshimitsu Motegi — show their unity after a news conference Wednesday at the party’s headquarters. | KYODO

By Mizuho Aoki and Reiji Yoshida
Staff Writers

Sep 3, 2014

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe appointed Justice Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki as secretary-general of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Wednesday, removing Shigeru Ishiba, Abe's top political rival, from the party's No. 2 post.

Abe appointed Tanigaki, 69, in apparent hopes that the veteran lawmaker, his predecessor as LDP leader while the party was in the opposition, will keep members united without disturbing the balance of power between intraparty factions.

Tanigaki is an experienced politician who has held a number of key positions, including LDP president, policy chief, finance minister and infrastructure minister.

Tanigaki gets nod as LDP No. 2; hawkish Inada named party policy chief

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