Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Restoration Party) co-leader Shintaro Ishihara said Thursday that he will soon launch a party ¡°more conservative¡± than the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, allowing torn Nippon Ishin to merge, as planned, with a center-left party and perhaps trigger a sweeping realignment of the opposition.
In a Tokyo news conference, Ishihara, 81, said he and some of his followers are leaving because they disagree with the proposed merger with Yui no To, which opposes Ishihara¡¯s call to replace the Constitution.
The former Tokyo governor said there are ¡°huge gaps¡± between his views and those of Yui no To on constitutional issues and the ongoing debate on legalizing the use of collective self-defense.
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