大島議長、きょう在職最長タイ　「歴史の重み踏まえ努力」

　大島理森衆院議長（７４）は１１日、在職日数が２０２９日となり、歴代最長の河野洋平氏に並んだ。１２日には単独１位となる。衆院議長は総選挙を区切りに交代するのが通例だが、年明けの衆院解散は見送られる公算が大きくなっており、大島氏は記録をさらに伸ばしそうだ。
　大島氏は１０日、時事通信のインタビューに「大変名誉だ。議会を開設した諸先人らが、日本の議会を守ってきた歴史の重みを踏まえつつ、初心に帰って努力しなければならない」と語った。（2020/12/11-00:16）

House of Representatives Speaker Tadamori Oshima tied the record for the longest-serving head of the lower chamber of the Diet, Japan's parliament, on Friday.
   Oshima, from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, has served in the post for 2,029 days, matching the record set by Yohei Kono. On Saturday, he will become the sole longest-serving head of the Lower House.
   It is common for Lower House speakers to be replaced after general elections for the all-important chamber, which elects the nation's prime minister. With a Lower House dissolution soon after the turn of the year now increasingly unlikely, Oshima is expected to boost his record even further.
   "It's a great honor," Oshima, 74, said in an interview with Jiji Press on Thursday. "We must go back to the basics and redouble efforts while respecting the history of those who have established and protected the Diet."
   Oshima, whose constituency is in Aomori Prefecture, northeastern Japan, has been elected to the Lower House 12 times. He became Lower House speaker in April 2015 to replace Nobutaka Machimura, who stepped down from the post due to illness. Previously, Oshima served in such posts as agriculture, forestry and fisheries minister, and secretary-general and vice president of the LDP.