TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Komeito, the junior partner of Japan's ruling coalition, formally endorsed land minister Tetsuo Saito as party leader on Saturday and pledged to restore its strength after setbacks in last month's general election.

Saito, 72, succeeds Keiichi Ishii, who decided to step down just a month after becoming party chief after losing a seat in the Oct. 27 general election. The ruling coalition of Komeito and its senior partner, the Liberal Democratic Party led by Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, lost its majority in the powerful House of Representatives in the election.

The new leader, selected at an extraordinary party convention, will be tasked with shoring up party strength before key elections, including one for the House of Councillors next summer.

The LDP has ensured a stable government for years with the help of Komeito, which is backed by the lay Buddhist organization Soka Gakkai.

The party's weakened support was evident in a drop in votes in the proportional representation section of the general election. With the ruling coalition losing its majority in the lower house, it now needs to secure support from opposition parties.

Saito has served as Komeito policy chief and is believed to maintain communication channels with both ruling and opposition party lawmakers.

In a meeting later on Saturday, Ishiba and Saito reaffirmed their parties' cooperation, including joint efforts to secure early passage of a supplementary budget for fiscal 2024.

Saito told reporters that he urged Ishiba to further reform the LDP following its slush funds scandal, a major factor behind the ruling camp's election setback.

Ishiba, set to be reelected as prime minister during a special parliamentary session starting Monday, separately told reporters he takes Saito's words seriously and will take additional steps to regain public trust in his party.

Meanwhile, Toshiko Takeya, 55, was appointed acting leader of Komeito to put a greater focus on women's issues.

"I hope she will be a leader in achieving the (government's) goal of a 30 percent female Diet member ratio in the next 10 years," Saito said at a press conference.

Holding a doctorate in engineering, Saito conducted research on space development at a Japanese construction company before being elected to the lower house in 1993.