ID :
117940
Thu, 04/22/2010 - 08:12
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/117940
The shortlink copeid
Ex-health minister Masuzoe to leave LDP, set up new party+
TOKYO, April 21 Kyodo - Former Health, Labor and Welfare Minister Yoichi Masuzoe said Wednesday he is preparing to leave the main opposition Liberal Democratic Party and launch a new party so he can help drive the Democratic Party of Japan out of power.
He did not clarify when he will submit a letter of resignation to the LDP, but
sources close to him said he will probably do so by the end of this week.
Masuzoe, 61, who has been critical of the LDP's leadership, has apparently
determined that the party is unlikely to win this summer's upper house election
under President Sadakazu Tanigaki over the DPJ headed by Prime Minister Yukio
Hatoyama.
The House of Councillors lawmaker has also come under criticism from LDP
colleagues because of his repeated criticism of the party leadership, with some
arguing that he has contributed to weakening the LDP's already fraying unity.
''I'm preparing (to establish a new party) so I can live up to people's
expectations,'' the former associate professor of political science at the
University of Tokyo told reporters in the city of Kawasaki, adding that he
himself will lead the envisaged new party.
''If we don't topple the DPJ-led government at the earliest date possible, it
will not benefit people,'' he said in a speech earlier.
''Japan will definitely sink if we leave the situation created by the Hatoyama
Cabinet unattended,'' Masuzoe said.
The planned departure of the popular politician will deal another blow to the
LDP, which has recently been deserted by several other seasoned lawmakers
including former Finance Minister Kaoru Yosano and former internal affairs
minister Kunio Hatoyama.
After the media reported about Masuzoe's plans, Tanigaki told reporters at the
LDP's head office in Tokyo that he did not know Masuzoe was planning to leave
the party.
A former TV commentator, Masuzoe often leads opinion polls asking who is most
suitable to be prime minister.
Masuzoe has already invited several lawmakers to join his envisioned party. He
is likely to secure five Diet members to meet the legal requirement for
endorsement as a political party, according to sources close to Masuzoe.
Some members of the minor opposition Japan Renaissance Party, including the
party's head Hideo Watanabe, Secretary General Hiroyuki Arai and its policy
chief Toshio Yamauchi have already conveyed to him their interest in joining
the party, according to the sources.
All three lawmakers are members of the upper chamber.
The LDP's Diet affairs chief for the upper house, Tetsuro Yano, as well as
Masakatsu Koike, an upper house lawmaker who submitted his resignation letter
to the LDP earlier this week, are also considering becoming members of the new
party, the sources said.
Since earlier this year, Masuzoe has made remarks that could be taken as an
attempt to remove Tanigaki from the post of party president or to form a new
party ahead of the upper house election, which will most likely be held on July
11. He has been serving his second term as upper house member since 2007.
A native of Fukuoka and graduate of the University of Tokyo, Masuzoe won his
first Diet seat in the 2001 upper house election, racking up the biggest number
of ballots under the proportional representative system.
He was health minister from July 2007 to September 2009 under three LDP-led
governments.
==Kyodo
He did not clarify when he will submit a letter of resignation to the LDP, but
sources close to him said he will probably do so by the end of this week.
Masuzoe, 61, who has been critical of the LDP's leadership, has apparently
determined that the party is unlikely to win this summer's upper house election
under President Sadakazu Tanigaki over the DPJ headed by Prime Minister Yukio
Hatoyama.
The House of Councillors lawmaker has also come under criticism from LDP
colleagues because of his repeated criticism of the party leadership, with some
arguing that he has contributed to weakening the LDP's already fraying unity.
''I'm preparing (to establish a new party) so I can live up to people's
expectations,'' the former associate professor of political science at the
University of Tokyo told reporters in the city of Kawasaki, adding that he
himself will lead the envisaged new party.
''If we don't topple the DPJ-led government at the earliest date possible, it
will not benefit people,'' he said in a speech earlier.
''Japan will definitely sink if we leave the situation created by the Hatoyama
Cabinet unattended,'' Masuzoe said.
The planned departure of the popular politician will deal another blow to the
LDP, which has recently been deserted by several other seasoned lawmakers
including former Finance Minister Kaoru Yosano and former internal affairs
minister Kunio Hatoyama.
After the media reported about Masuzoe's plans, Tanigaki told reporters at the
LDP's head office in Tokyo that he did not know Masuzoe was planning to leave
the party.
A former TV commentator, Masuzoe often leads opinion polls asking who is most
suitable to be prime minister.
Masuzoe has already invited several lawmakers to join his envisioned party. He
is likely to secure five Diet members to meet the legal requirement for
endorsement as a political party, according to sources close to Masuzoe.
Some members of the minor opposition Japan Renaissance Party, including the
party's head Hideo Watanabe, Secretary General Hiroyuki Arai and its policy
chief Toshio Yamauchi have already conveyed to him their interest in joining
the party, according to the sources.
All three lawmakers are members of the upper chamber.
The LDP's Diet affairs chief for the upper house, Tetsuro Yano, as well as
Masakatsu Koike, an upper house lawmaker who submitted his resignation letter
to the LDP earlier this week, are also considering becoming members of the new
party, the sources said.
Since earlier this year, Masuzoe has made remarks that could be taken as an
attempt to remove Tanigaki from the post of party president or to form a new
party ahead of the upper house election, which will most likely be held on July
11. He has been serving his second term as upper house member since 2007.
A native of Fukuoka and graduate of the University of Tokyo, Masuzoe won his
first Diet seat in the 2001 upper house election, racking up the biggest number
of ballots under the proportional representative system.
He was health minister from July 2007 to September 2009 under three LDP-led
governments.
==Kyodo