TOKYO, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Japan's main opposition Democratic Party on Thursday elected a former cabinet minister as its first female leader on Thursday, following a last-minute hiccup when she was found to hold dual citizenship in violation of Japanese law. Born to a Taiwanese father and a Japanese mother, the 48-year-old Renho is the first person of mixed-ethnic heritage to lead a big political party in Japan, and has sought to cast herself as a voice for the country’s younger generation. The Japan NewsThe Democratic Party on Thursday elected acting party chief Renho as its new president with the majority support of its rank and file, making her the first woman to lead the DP. Renho is one of a handful of women to grab the spotlight lately in Japan's male-dominated corridors of power, along with hawkish Defence Minister Tomomi Inada and Yuriko Koike, a former defence minister who is now Tokyo's first female governor.
Japan's Democratic Party elects Sha Renhō as President. The House of Councillors member becomes the first female to head the opposition party.