Yohei Kono, speaker of the House of Representatives, announced Thursday that he would retire from politics, said reports from Hakone, Kanagawa Prefecture.
At a press conference after the closed-door meeting at a hotel in Hakone, the 71-year-old veteran politician said that he is not to stand for the possible lower house election in the coming months.
A graduate from Waseda University, Kono has been elected to the lower house for 14 straight times since 1967, when he first became a lawmaker of the lower house. In November 2003, he became speaker of the lower house.
An old friend of the Chinese people, Kono has paid eight visits to China. He is now the chief of Japan Association for the Promotion of International Trade, one of the seven Japan-China friendship bodies, and a member of the Association of Dietmen League for Japan-China Friendship.
In March 2007, Kono was elected head of Japanese lawmakers' league supporting the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and made contributions to the Beijing Olympics.
Source:Xinhua
|
Comment
Tell A Friend
Print Format
Save Article