People's New Party leader Shizuka Kamei, Sunrise Party of Japan leader Takeo Hiranuma and Tokyo Govorner Shintaro Ishihara have agreed to launch a new pro- conservative political party as early as March, local media reported Friday.
The new party may see as many as 80 politicians join, the Kyodo News Agency quoted sources with knowledge of the matter as saying, while Jiji Press Ltd. said that Tokyo Govornor Shintaro Ishihara may emerge as the party's leader.
Following a meeting on Wednesday, Hiranuma, Kamei and Ishihara laid out plans to formulate the new party's political platform and ways it could work with other parties to field potential candidates for the next lower house election.
Local reports said that the new party is looking to invite members from both the main ruling Democratic Party of Japan and the main opposition Liberal Democratic Party of Japan to join, while looking to Osaka Mayor tour Hashimoto and the governor of Aichi Prefecture, Hideaki Omura, to also be involved.
People's New Party chief Shizuka Kamei said he hopes that the new party will become Japan's third largest after the DPJ and LDP and his party's Secretary General Mikio Shimoji said on a nationally televised TV program on Friday that he wished Ishihara would become the country's next prime minister.
He also acknowledged that forming another coalition government would be possible as the next lower house election may not see a clear majority.
The People's New Party, are the junior coalition partner of the ruling DPJ, whereas the Sunrise Party of Japan comprises a small faction of the opposition bloc...