Yorihisa Matsuno, head of Ishin no To (Japan Innovation Party), has sacked three of the party¡¯s four top executives, a move likely to accelerate the unfolding disintegration process of the nation¡¯s second-largest opposition force.

Among the three to get the ax Tuesday were Nobuyuki Baba, Ishin¡¯s Diet affairs chief from Osaka, and Executive Council Chairman Toranosuke Katayama, who also serves as the head of the party¡¯s Upper House caucus.

The two had expressed their intention to leave the party soon and join Osaka Ishin no Kai, a local party led by Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto.

Baba has also opposed launching a no-confidence motion against the Cabinet of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, even though Matsuno has said that Ishin would vote for such a motion if one is proposed in the Diet.

¡°I have made the personnel changes so that we can remain united¡± in handling Diet affairs, Matsuno told a news conference at the Diet on Tuesday.

Ishin no To has been deeply divided between Osaka-based lawmakers who are willing to support Abe¡¯s Cabinet and Tokyo-based lawmakers who prefer siding with other opposition parties.

Many of the Osaka-based members are expected to eventually leave Ishin and join Hashimoto¡¯s new party.

Matsuno also replaced Secretary-General Mito Kakizawa with Masato Imai, Ishin¡¯s policy chief.

Matsuno tapped Yoshio Maki, a Lower House member from Aichi Prefecture, as the new Diet affairs chief; Jiro Ono from Yamanashi Prefecture as Executive Council chairman; and Nobuhiko Isaka from Hyogo Prefecture as new policy chief.

Matsuno said he appointed the new executives so the party leadership can remain ¡°monolithic¡± despite recent internal strife.

Matsuno didn¡¯t explain the reason for Kakizawa¡¯s dismissal.

Kakizawa, who supported a candidate backed by other opposition parties in the recent mayoral election in the city of Yamagata, has been criticized for triggering an internal struggle between Osaka- and Tokyo-based party members.