Japan's Party of Hope picks lower house lawmaker Tamaki as co-leader

Japan's opposition Party of Hope on Friday voted for lower house lawmaker Yuichiro Tamaki to serve as co-leader alongside Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike.

As Koike does not hold a seat in parliament, Tamaki will represent the party in parliamentary matters.

The Party of Hope selected Tamaki, who secured 53 votes from party members compared to his rival Hiroshi Ogushi, who received 39. Ogushi is a fifth-term lower house member.

Tamaki, 48, is a fourth-term lower house member and will now be charged with strengthening the fledgling party after its crippling defeat in the October 22 general election.

Prior to the election, Koike had vowed to topple the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) led by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, but her party came up well short of expectations, conceding ground to the now main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, led by former Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano.

"We must seriously and humbly face up to what happened and ask ourselves why we lost...I think it was up to each and every one of us," Tamaki was quoted as telling the party's lawmakers Friday.

"I want to work with all of you to grow this Party of Hope into a party that can open up a future for Japan," he said.

(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)