New Komeito suffered a major blow Sunday, with leader Akihiro Ota and other senior members losing their Diet seats.
Ota and party Secretary General Kazuo Kitagawa lost to challengers from the Democratic Party of Japan in their single-seat districts, and Tetsuzo Fuyushiba was defeated by New Party Nippon leader Yasuo Tanaka, who is close to DPJ deputy leader Ichiro Ozawa.
All three will no longer be in the Diet because they were not on the party's proportional representation lists, which give candidates a second chance to be elected.
Ota, 63, who was elected to the Lower House in 1993 and served five terms, was knocked off by the DPJ's Ai Aoki, 44, who was handpicked by Ozawa to run in the Tokyo No. 12 district.
Ota has been chief representative of New Komeito since September 2006.
Kitagawa, 56, a former land, infrastructure and transport minister first elected to the Lower House in 1990 and served six terms, lost to DPJ newcomer Hiroyuki Moriyama, 38, in the Osaka No. 16 district.
Fuyushiba, 73, another former transport minister, was defeated by former Nagano Gov. Tanaka, who gave up his Upper House seat to run Sunday in the Hyogo No. 8 constituency.
