自民選対委員長に木原誠二氏　小泉氏の後任―首相調整

　石破茂首相（自民党総裁）は、新たな党選対委員長に木原誠二選対委員長代行（５４）を昇格させる方向で調整に入った。辞任の決まった小泉進次郎氏の後任。来週、第２次石破内閣発足に合わせて就任する見通し。複数の党関係者が６日、明らかにした。来夏に東京都議選や参院選を控え、継続性を重視したとみられる。
　小泉氏は衆院選投開票翌日の１０月２８日、大敗の責任を取って辞表を提出。首相はこれを受理し、後任選びを進めてきた。
　木原氏は衆院東京２０区選出で当選６回。岸田文雄前首相の最側近として知られ、岸田政権では官房副長官や党幹事長代理を務めた。四役入りさせることで、岸田氏ら旧岸田派メンバーから協力を一層引き出す思惑もありそうだ。（2024/11/06-18:18）

Japan's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, also president of the Liberal Democratic Party, plans to appoint Seiji Kihara as new chairman of the ruling party's Election Strategy Committee, several party sources said Wednesday.
   Kihara, 54, is expected to succeed outgoing election committee head Shinjiro Koizumi in line with the launch next week of Ishiba's second cabinet. Koizumi is resigning to take the blame for the LDP's stunning defeat in the Oct. 27 election for the House of Representatives, the all-important lower chamber of the country's parliament.
   Ishiba decided to promote Kihara, currently acting election chief, to the top committee position so the LDP can smoothly prepare for elections for the Tokyo metropolitan assembly and the House of Councillors, the upper chamber, both next summer.
   Elected to the Lower House six times from the Tokyo No. 20 constituency, Kihara is one of the closest aides to Ishiba's immediate predecessor, Fumio Kishida. Under the Kishida administration, he served as deputy chief cabinet secretary and the party's acting secretary-general.
   Allocating one of the four key LDP posts to Kihara would help Ishiba gain further support from Kishida and members of the now-defunct party faction formerly led by Kishida, observers said.