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Senior DPJ officials prepare for power transition

(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-09-02 16:04

TOKYO: Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) Secretary General Katsuyu Okada and the party's policy chief Masayuki Naoshima on Wednesday visited Prime Minister Taro Aso's office for a smooth transfer of government.

Democratic Party leader Yukio Hatoyama walks past his poster after speaking to reporters at the party headquarters in Tokyo September 1, 2009. [Agencies]

The two senior officials of the DPJ, which won a landslide in the Sunday's general election and is likely to form a tripartite coalition government with the Social Democratic Party and the People's New Party, held talks with Chief Cabinet Secretary Takeo Kawamura at the office.

"In light of a change of government, I would like to ask for explanations on policies the government is working on and the provision of information," Okada was quoted as telling Kawamura at the opening session of their meeting.

"We will offer cooperation to a new administration for the sake of the state and national interests," said Kawamura at a press conference earlier in the day.

Also on Wednesday, Prime Minister Taro Aso instructed Kawamura the same day to cooperate for "a smooth change of power" and to " fulfill the responsibilities on risk management and other matters of the incumbent Cabinet until the birth of a new administration."

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On Sunday, the DPJ snatched 308 of 480 seats in the historic lower house election, ending more than 50 years of almost unbroken rule by the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).

DPJ leader Yukio Hatoyama is set to be voted in as the next prime minister on September 16, as the government and ruling parties decided to convene a special four-day Diet session through that day.

On Tuesday, Hatoyama met with Shizuka Kamei, leader of People's New Party, and agreed to start talks shortly on forming a coalition along with Social Democratic Party leader Mizuho Fukushima.