Komeito, the junior coalition partner in the Liberal Democratic Party-led government, on Sunday endorsed an eighth term for its leader, Natsuo Yamaguchi, ahead of a spate of local assembly elections next spring.
After formally being approved at the party's convention in Tokyo, Yamaguchi, 70, said Komeito "will do (its) utmost to support the Kishida administration."
Prime Minister and LDP President Fumio Kishida, who attended the convention as a guest, congratulated Yamaguchi and called on the participants to overcome the difficulties faced by the nation together.
Komeito is backed by Japan's largest lay Buddhist organization, Soka Gakkai. The self-claimed "peace party" has been a part of the coalition government since 2012.
Yamaguchi, who has served as a lawmaker since 1990, is expected to take a leading role in securing as many seats as possible in the local elections across the country in April as Komeito plans to field a number of candidates.
Later this year, meanwhile, Yamaguchi will coordinate negotiations with the LDP, which has been trying to bolster Japan's security capabilities, in drafting the nation's defense budget despite their differing positions on security issues.
The conservative LDP has pledged to double the country's defense spending to 2% or more of gross domestic product — a level on par with NATO member states.
A lawyer-turned-politician, Yamaguchi became the leader of Komeito in September 2009 after his predecessor, Akihiro Ota, resigned to take responsibility for the party's performance in the House of Representatives election earlier that year.
At Sunday's convention, the party retained Keiichi Ishii as secretary-general and newly picked Yosuke Takagi as policy chief.