Katsuya Okada, secretary general of the Democratic Party of Japan, was chosen uncontested Tuesday as the new chief of the opposition party, following the abrupt withdrawal of the first pick, Ichiro Ozawa, the previous night.
Okada, 50, said he has selected Hirohisa Fujii, a veteran lawmaker and a close aide to Ozawa, as the new DPJ secretary general.
With unanimous support from participants at a general assembly of the DPJ's Diet members in the afternoon, Okada took over from former chief Naoto Kan, who announced his resignation May 10 to take responsibility for not paying into the national pension system for 10 months in 1996 while serving as health minister.