Ishii to Step Down as Komeito Chief

Tokyo, Oct. 28 (Jiji Press)--Keiichi Ishii plans to step down as leader of Komeito, the junior partner in Japan's ruling coalition, after losing his seat in Sunday's election for the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of parliament, party officials said Monday.

Ishii, who became Komeito chief only last month, may announce his decision to resign as soon as at a party meeting on Thursday.

"It would be difficult (for me) to go on as party chief if I'm no longer a lawmaker," Ishii said at a press conference on Monday.

The last Komeito leader to lose a Lower House seat was Akihiro Ota in the 2009 Lower House election.

In Sunday's election, Komeito fielded 11 candidates, including Ishii, in single-seat constituencies. The party, however, only won four seats. It also lost three proportional representation seats.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]