TOKYO- Democratic Party President Renho said Thursday that she will resign from the post, apparently to take the blame for causing confusion within the main Japanese opposition party following its dismal performance in the July 2 Tokyo metropolitan assembly election.

Renho made the announcement at a regular press conference two days after Secretary-General Yoshihiko Noda expressed his intention to step down from the post to make clear his responsibility for the election result.

"The best thing is to get a new executive team to lead the party, so it will become stronger," said Renho, a member of the House of Councillors, the upper chamber of the Diet, the country's parliament.

"I did not have enough ability to lead," she said, adding that she made up her mind about the resignation on Wednesday.

As Renho abruptly tendered her resignation, the DP needs to start work to select its new leader as soon as possible, sources familiar with the situation said.

The result of the party leadership election is likely to affect how opposition parties will cooperate in fight against the Liberal Democratic Party-led ruling bloc, pundits said.

At the press conference, Renho expressed hopes that the next leadership will maintain the party's electoral cooperation with the Japanese Communist Party.

Meanwhile, she withdrew her earlier plan to run in a Tokyo constituency in the next election for the House of Representatives, the lower chamber. "I'll reconsider it," she said.

The DP will decide details for its leadership race from now, including the election schedule and how to select its next leader.

Among possible candidates for the DP's new leader, former Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara told reporters that he hopes to run in the coming leadership election, as he did in the previous one.

Former Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano, who supports stronger cooperation with the JCP, has also signaled his interest in joining the race. Some DP members want Deputy Secretary-General Yuichiro Tamaki to run for the top post again.

In the Tokyo election, the DP won only five of the 127 assembly seats, down two from its preelection strength, while the ruling Liberal Democratic Party suffered a crushing defeat to Tomin First no Kai (Tokyoites first group), a regional party then led by popular Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike.

Renho, a former television personality, was elected only last September to serve a three-year term as DP leader. She replaced Katsuya Okada, the first head of the party launched in March 2016 through the merger of the Democratic Party of Japan and Ishin no To (Japan Innovation Party).

She got off to a rocky start due to a scandal over her Japanese-Taiwanese dual citizenship. Last week, she disclosed documents to confirm her loss of Taiwanese citizenship. (Jiji Press)