Japan's Ruling LDP Secretary General Nonaka to QuitHiromu Nonaka, secretary general of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), told Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori on December 1 that he will quit, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda said.Nonaka expressed his wish to resign in a meeting with Mori at the prime minister's official residence, Fukuda said. "We repeatedly urged him (Nonaka) to stay on but it's a done deal," the top government spokesman told reporters. Nonaka conveyed the same message of resignation to his New Komeito party counterpart Tetsuzo Fuyushiba before his talks with Mori, political sources here said. Nonaka is one of the several LDP heavyweights who handpicked Mori as the successor to the then ailing Japanese Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi in April. Nonaka also played a key role when the LDP and its coalition partners voted down a no-confidence motion submitted by opposition parties against the Mori cabinet last week. |
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