World News Okada chosen to take helm of DPJ

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Katsuya Okada, secretary general of the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), was chosen as the new chief of the opposition party May 18, following the abrupt withdrawal of Ichiro Ozawa the previous night.

Okada, 50, said he has selected Hirohisa Fujii, a veteran lawmaker and a close aide to Ozawa, as the new DPJ secretary general.

With unanimous support from participants at a general assembly of the DPJ's Diet members in the afternoon, Okada took over from former chief Naoto Kan, who announced his resignation May 10 to take responsibility for not paying into the National Pension System for 10 months in 1996 while serving as health minister.

Ozawa, deputy DPJ chief, accepted a request from Okada on May 14 to succeed Kan as party chief. But he abruptly turned down the job May 17, saying that he, too, had failed to pay premiums before it became mandatory for lawmakers to join the pension system in 1986.

No other DPJ members came forward May 18 as candidates for the party's top job, which includes the daunting task of pulling the DPJ together to regain voter trust ahead of the House of Councilors election in July.

Okada's tenure as DPJ chief runs through September, the remainder of Kan's term.(The Japan Times)

民主党代表に岡田氏選出