Koike’s Party of Hope flops as Japan's new liberal party grabs top opposition post
The opposition Party of Hope, formed only weeks before the election by the popular Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike, suffered a drubbing
A new liberal party has become the main opposition force after edging ahead of another novice party led by Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike in Sunday’s general election, a significant accomplishment for the party hastily formed amid an abrupt opposition realignment.
With Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party gaining a solid victory, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, formed by the liberal wing of the collapsing former opposition Democratic Party, won 54 seats, still far from enough to make it a formidable force against the ruling bloc.
But the party was expected to increase its profile by opposing moves to amend the pacifist article in Japan’s Constitution and seek a change in Abe’s economic policies, which it believes has increased social disparity.
“We will work to realise politics that sides with the people … This is the starting point,” party leader Yukio Edano said.
Tetsuro Fukuyama, the CDPJ’s secretary general, said earlier: “We’ve called for the need to bring back ‘proper politics’ and we felt that resonating with more people day by day.”
The party started off with only 16 House of Representatives lawmakers, but has picked up support through the 12-day election campaigning period by calling for an end to Abe’s unrivalled grip on power and opposing an amendment of the Constitution’s war-renouncing Article 9, as proposed by Abe.