TOKYO: The first female leader of Japan’s opposition Democratic Party, Renho, said on Thursday she was resigning after her party failed to capitalise on Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s sinking support rates and suffered a heavy defeat in a Tokyo election.
Renho, who was born to a Japanese mother and a Taiwanese father and goes by one name, had hoped to repair the party’s image when she took over last September.
Her party was battered by three years in power plagued by bickering, flip-flops and unkept promises.
However, support for the Democrats remains well below 10 per cent even though backing for Abe has slid to below 30 per cent in some polls because of suspected cronyism scandals and a feeling among voters that he takes them for granted.
“I have decided that it would be best to have new leadership take over,” Renho told a news conference.
“I was unable to demonstrate the power for the Democratic Party to become an alternative to the Abe cabinet, which appears to be a distorted administration,” she said.
A party election would be held promptly to replace her, she said. — Reuters
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