New Democratic Party of Japan President Yukio Hatoyama officially launched his executive lineup Tuesday, with Katsuya Okada, his rival in the party leadership race, as secretary general and former DPJ boss Ichiro Ozawa as deputy party chief in charge of election strategy.
Retaining Ozawa in a key post despite his May 11 exit due to the indictment of his top aide in a shady political donations scandal has already drawn criticism not only from the ruling camp but also from some members within the DPJ.
However, during a meeting of DPJ lawmakers from both chambers of the Diet, Hatoyama stressed party unity will be the priority in the upcoming Lower House election. Given the limited amount of time before the election must be held, he added that he will keep personnel changes to a minimum.