TOKYO —

New Liberal Democratic Party President Taro Aso appointed former Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda as LDP secretary general while retaining those who held other key executive posts under his predecessor, Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda. Aso, 68, who defeated four rivals in the LDP presidential election earlier in the day, named Hosoda, 64, the party’s acting secretary general, as his successor in the No. 2 party position and kept Kosuke Hori, 73, as LDP Policy Research Council chairman.
   
He also retained Takashi Sasagawa, 72, as General Council chairman and Makoto Koga, 68, as Election Strategy Council chairman, in addition to keeping Tadamori Oshima, 62, as chairman of the Diet Affairs Committee. Hosoda emphasized the importance of having parliament pass a supplementary budget for the current fiscal year at an extraordinary Diet session, to be convened Wednesday, as part of an emergency policy package aimed at easing the negative impact on the Japanese economy from spikes in energy and raw material costs.
   

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4 Comments

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  JoeBigs at 10:26 AM JST - 23rd September

  Alright Aso! Let us hope that he that he will be a stronger PM than Fukuda was! I for one am glad to see someone with his background taking the post!

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  noborito at 11:41 AM JST - 23rd September

  The slow out of touch and out of shape body is the same, just a different stupid brain. no change. good bye LDP

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  thepro at 01:26 PM JST - 23rd September

  Yeah, just keep the same old geezers. Hooray for change.

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  YadotNapaj at 10:52 PM JST - 23rd September

  This one's a big time right-winger.

  They're easy to elect but easily booted out.

  I'd give this Aso less than a year.

  Smart money says he should be gone by the start of Golden Week 2009.

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