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The 46th general election for the House of Representatives took place on December 16. The Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) lost a substantial number of its 230 Diet seats. In light of the outcome, President Noda held a press conference at around 11 p.m. on the day of the election and announced his resignation as DPJ President, commenting, “The results are unfortunate. We have lost many party members who gave their utmost efforts for the Government and the DPJ in three years and three months; many promising people. I feel deep remorse from the bottom of my heart. In politics, we must take responsibility for outcomes. As the President of the DPJ, I bear the most responsibility for this massive defeat.” Noda’s statement is summarized below.
The election results this time have been hard to take for the DPJ. These results show the will of the people and we must accept them. There were nevertheless many who supported our party and voted for our candidates even in this busy and cold season. I would like to express my heartfelt appreciation to all our supporters and apologize for the outcome of the election despite their help. I would also like to extend my deep appreciation to each of my fellow candidates who campaigned hard against a political headwind. The results are unfortunate. We have lost many party members who gave their utmost efforts for the Government and the DPJ in three years and three months; many promising people. I feel deep remorse from the bottom of my heart. In politics, we must take responsibility for outcomes. As the President of the DPJ, I bear the most responsibility for this massive defeat. I take the consequence of the election seriously. I will resign as President of the DPJ. I have already informed the Secretary General, Acting Secretary General and Deputy Prime Minister of this. I also communicated my wish to convey a meeting of the Diet members of the both Houses and elect new DPJ President at the earliest possible time, in order to rebuild the Party with a new leader and together with everyone who won and lost. I believe we can restore the trust and expectations the people once had in the DPJ.
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