Diet members of the minor opposition Social Democratic Party chose Mizuho Fukushima as their new president on Saturday, handing her the task of rebuilding a party that suffered a crushing defeat in the Nov. 9 general election.
The 47-year-old lawyer, who was previously the party's secretary general and is a well-known women's rights activist, succeeds Takako Doi.
The party's charismatic president was forced to step down Thursday after failing to halt the pacifist party's decline.