At its meeting on Sept. 5, the intraparty faction of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) led by Toshihiro Nikai approved the admission of Lower House member Eiichiro Washio, 42. Washio, who represents the Niigata No. 2 district, is a former member of the now-defunct Democratic Party of Japan and joined the LDP in March. Nikai’s faction has accepted four Diet members who were newly elected in the recent Upper House election. The addition of Washio thus brought the faction’s headcount to 46, making it the fourth largest faction in the LDP on par with the one led by Fumio Kishida. (Abridged)