LDP Upper House Secretary-General Ishii to Be Replaced

Tokyo, Sept. 15 (Jiji Press)--Junichi Ishii, secretary-general of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party in the Senate will be replaced from his post, it was learned Tuesday.

Ishii, 68, was informed of the replacement by Masaji Matsuyama, the LDP's chairman in the upper chamber of the Diet, party sources said. This personnel change appears to reflect Prime Minister and LDP President Sanae Takaichi's discontent with Ishii over Upper House affairs.

Through the removal of Ishii and the appointment of former Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Hideki Murai, 46, as LDP Diet affairs chief, Takaichi apparently hopes to secure control over Diet affairs within the party.

At a meeting of party executives on Tuesday, Takaichi announced that she would reshuffle the party's executive lineup on Wednesday and her cabinet on Thursday.

Takaichi is expected to retain LDP Vice President Taro Aso, 85, Secretary-General Shunichi Suzuki, 73, policy chief Takayuki Kobayashi, 51, Election Strategy Committee chief Yasutoshi Nishimura, 63, and Executive Acting Secretary-General Koichi Hagiuda, 63.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]