PanOrient News

A Japanese TV live broadcast of the speech by Trade and Industry minister Banri Kaieda after he won the largest number of votes in the ruling Democratic Party of Japan's presidential election Monday, but his failure to secure a majority forced a runoff.
Kaieda and runner-up Yoshihiko Noda, finance minister, will compete in the runoff election to be held later in the day.
In the poll, Kaieda won 143 votes, while Noda collected 102 votes.
Of the DPJ's 407 members of the Diet, Japan's parliament, 398 were eligible for the vote, excluding party bigwig Ichiro Ozawa and eight others whose party membership was suspended.
Seiji Maehara, former foreign minister, lost to Noda to rank third with 74 votes. Agriculture minister Michihiko Kano came in forth with 52 votes, followed by former transport minister Sumio Mabuchi with 24 votes.
The new DPJ president is to be elected prime minister by virtue of the DPJ's comfortable majority in the House of Representatives, the all-important lower chamber of parliament.

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