Japan's opposition policy chief announces bid for CDPJ leadership race

TOKYO -- Kenta Izumi, the policy chief of Japan's main opposition party, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDPJ), on Wednesday formally announced his bid for the party's leadership election which is to be held at the end of November.

Izumi said he will seek to build a society where people can feel safe, and vowed to reform his party after the Oct. 31 election failure, expressing his hope of changing the image of the party from negative to a positive one.

"I want to stand in the forefront in reforming the party," Izumi said.

"I will consider what to do by taking into account the number of seats and the situation in each area," he said. "I'm not ruling out any option."

Seiji Osaka, a former prime ministerial special adviser, also announced his candidacy for the party leadership earlier in the day, while Chinami Nishimura, a former senior vice minister of health, labor and welfare, is also expected to do so later in the day.

Hiroshi Ogushi, a former parliamentary vice minister for finance, and Junya Ogawa, a former parliamentary vice minister for internal affairs, have also suggested their willingness to run in the race.

The leadership election will be held on Nov. 30 as Yukio Edano announced his resignation from the post of CDPJ leader after the party failed to win in the House of Representatives election on Oct. 31.

The new party chief will be faced with the task of leading the party into the House of Councillors election next summer.

The CDPJ currently has 96 seats in the 465-member lower chamber, declining from the previous 110 seats despite joint efforts with other opposition parties such as the Japanese Communist Party, unable to defeat the ruling coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito who hold 261 and 32 seats separately.