Japan: Prime Minister Noda appoints new leadership
On August 30, new Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, Chairman of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), appointed Senator Azuma Koshiishi, Chairman of the DPJ parliamentary group in the National Assembly, as Secretary General of the party, replacing Mr. Katsuya Okada.
On the afternoon of August 30, Prime Minister Noda had a meeting and asked Mr. Koshiishi to take up the position of Secretary General of the Democratic Party of Japan and Mr. Koshiishi officially accepted. Mr. Koshiishi, 75 years old, is considered the "boss" of the Upper House and has close relationships with figures from opposition parties. The appointment of Mr. Koshiishi is believed to be aimed at strengthening unity within the ruling party, because Senator Koshiishi is a close ally of former President Ichiro Ozawa.
On the same day, Prime Minister Noda also appointed former Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara, 49, as Chairman of the Democratic Party's Policy Committee.
Earlier that day, Mr. Noda passed the vote in both houses of the National Diet, officially becoming the new Prime Minister of Japan. According to some sources, the new Prime Minister Noda will form a new government on September 2 or 4. Mr. Noda also plans to convene an extraordinary session of the National Diet on September 12 to speak about the new policy and answer questions from party representatives. According to the plan, the current National Diet session will end on August 31./.
According to Vietnam+
