Oshima to be reappointed as speaker of Lower House

October 31, 2017

TOKYO- Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party plans to reappoint senior party member Tadamori Oshima as speaker of the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the Diet, the country's parliament, according to informed sources.

The reappointment of Oshima, 71, is expected to be approved during a special Diet session set to start on Wednesday, the sources said.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, also LDP leader, plans to reappoint all ministers to their posts when he forms a new cabinet, the sources said.

Abe is expected to be reelected prime minister during the Diet session following his party's landslide victory in the Oct. 22 Lower House election. He also plans to retain all LDP executives in their posts, the sources said.

The Lower House speaker, customarily chosen among ruling party members, is usually replaced following an election for the chamber.

Initial candidates for the post included former Chief Cabinet Secretary Takeo Kawamura and former Finance Minister Fukushiro Nukaga.

But the LDP eventually opted to keep Oshima in his post ahead of Emperor Akihito's planned abdication, the sources said. Oshima helped pass a law to allow the Emperor to step down. Jiji Press