New Komeito, a junior partner in the ruling coalition, re-elected Natsuo Yamaguchi as its chief during its party convention on Sunday. Yamaguchi, who has served the position since 2009, needs to realize he has the duty to renew the party's commitment to the pursuit of peace and to check the excesses of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's hawkish policies on national defense.
The party was created in 1964 as a Buddhist political party backed by Soka Gakkai, the nation's largest lay Buddhist organization. Although it later shed its religious color, it has continued to present itself as a party striving to improve social welfare and pursue the no-war principle.
However, its track record as a coalition partner of the Liberal Democratic Party throws its commitment to the pacifist principles in doubt. It is all the more important for the party, as it marks the 50th anniversary of its founding in November, to make serious efforts to regain people's trust by firmly upholding the values it stands for.