Nippon Ishin no Kai chose its former secretary-general, Fumitake Fujita, as its next co-leader Friday, a day after members decided Osaka Gov. Hirofumi Yoshimura would continue as party head without the need for a separate leadership election.
The 44-year-old Fujita replaces Seiji Maehara, who resigned after Nippon Ishin’s failure to make big gains in the Upper House election last month as it continues to struggle to find votes outside of its Kansai base and establish an identity as a national party.
The heavily Osaka-centric party overwhelmingly chose Fujita, a Lower House lawmaker elected from an Osaka district, over Upper House member Shigefumi Matsuzawa, 67, a Kanagawa district representative, and Lower House lawmaker Takeshi Saiki, 51, who represents a Fukui district.
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