Nippon Ishin Retains Leader after Local Election Victory

Jiji Press

14:21 JST, May 14, 2023

OSAKA (Jiji Press) — Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Innovation Party) decided Sunday to forgo a leadership election after achieving its goal of increasing its local assembly seats to 600 in last month’s unified local elections across the country.

Nippon Ishin leader Nobuyuki Baba won endorsement from a majority of party members at an extraordinary party convention in Osaka on the day.

The Osaka-based party now aims to overtake the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan to become the largest opposition force in the next House of Representatives election.

“We will face a very tough uphill road from here,” Baba said at the party meeting. “If we achieve the target, we can show the people a novel parliamentary debate.”

The party is poised to work to consolidate its foothold across the country.