A day after the humiliating loss of his Diet seat in Sunday¡¯s general election, Banri Kaieda officially announced his resignation as president of the Democratic Party of Japan, the biggest opposition force.
¡°I deeply regret the lack of my ability¡± to retain a Lower House seat, Kaieda said during a news conference at DPJ headquarters in Tokyo. ¡°When I traveled across the country, I heard many appeals from the public asking us to stop the Abe administration from getting out of control. But we couldn¡¯t win the (requisite) number (of seats).¡±
It is unprecedented for the head of a political party to lose a Diet seat in a national election, especially in view of the wide media exposure they get.
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