Japan Pols Elect Opposition President

The upper house of Japan's Parliament elected a Democratic Party of Japan lawmaker as its president Tuesday, the first time an opposition member has held the post.

The upper house chose Satsuki Eda in a unanimous vote in a special session following the crushing defeat of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ruling party in July 29 elections.

Eda, a former Science and Technology Agency chief, has served three terms in the upper house and four terms in the lower house.

Abe's Liberal Democratic Party suffered one of its worst setbacks in 50 years of political domination in last month's elections. The Democratic Party advanced to dominate the 242-seat upper house for the first time with 109 seats.

Abe's ruling coalition still controls the more powerful lower house, which chooses the prime minister.

Despite sagging popularity and calls for his departure, Abe has refused to step down.

Abe's government has been fiercely criticized over some 50 million missing pension records and the misuse of political funds.

The beleaguered prime minister plans to reshuffle his Cabinet. He has not announced exactly when, but has indicated it will take place after he returns from an Aug. 19-25 three-nation overseas trip, and Japanese media said it may take place on Aug. 27.

Since Abe took office in September, three Cabinet ministers have resigned and another committed suicide. In his latest embarrassment, the agriculture minister resigned amid a funds scandal last week.

Support for Abe's Cabinet has dipped to a record low of 22 percent, according to a telephone poll of 1,165 voters conducted Aug. 4-5 by the national newspaper Mainichi.

The upper house also elected Akiko Santo, a member of Abe's ruling party, as vice president.

The lower house also was to convene a session later Tuesday. Both chambers are to decide on the length of the special session, expected to last for four days through Friday.