Editorial photo #2148356 Politics

Yukio Edano & Seiji Maehara the Democratic Party is preparing to elect its new leader in Japan

The Democratic Party is preparing to elect its new leader on September 1 after Ren'hō Murata gave up the top party post following the DP's stunning setback in the Tokyo municipal assembly election in July. Yukio Edano, 53, is a former chief cabinet secretary backed by the party's liberal wing. As DP secretary general, he was instrumental in fielding a number of joint candidates with other opposition parties, including the Communists, in last year's upper-house election, which was however dominated by the LDP, speaks during a news conference at Tokyo Foreign Correspondents Club of Japan on August 29, 2017. (Photo by Alessandro Di Ciommo/NurPhoto)