Aiming to provide a counterbalance to the sweeping rise of conservative forces in Japan¡¯s political arena, a former Democratic Party lawmaker announced Monday he will establish a new liberal-minded party to maximize the chances of dethroning Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Yukio Edano, an eight-term lawmaker, said he will head the new party, which will be named Rikken Minshu To. This roughly translates as Party of Constitutionalism and Democracy.
¡°I¡¯ve decided to found this new party to protect the livelihood of Japanese people, constitutionalism, democracy and their free society,¡± Edano, 53, told a packed news conference. ¡°I hope the public will support our bid to put a stop to the Abe administration, which is spiraling out of control.¡±
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