Japan's ousted ruling party elected former Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki as its new leader on Monday, The Associated Press reported. Tanigaki, 64, will replace as party chief former Prime Minister Taro Aso, who led the Liberal Democratic Party into a crushing defeat in August elections against new Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's Democratic Party of Japan. The Liberal Democratic Party, which is conservative and pro-big business, had ruled since it was founded in 1955 with just one short break. «I would like to do my best to win back voters' confidence,» Tanigaki said at the party's headquarters, after winning 300 of the 498 valid ballots cast by party lawmakers and rank-and-file members across the nation. «I will be at the forefront in reforming our party,» Tanigaki said. «I will make my utmost efforts so that our party can once again return to power.» In August, the Liberal Democrats lost 60 percent of their seats and their majority in the more powerful lower house of parliament. In the 242-member upper house, the party only has 85 seats. During the party election campaign, Tanigaki vowed he would lead the party to victory in an upper house election scheduled for next summer.
