Japan: Prime Minister's opponents form new party

Mr. Ichiro Ozawa, who left the ruling Democratic Party (DP) to protest Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's tax hike policy, announced the formation of a new political party on July 11 consisting of 49 lawmakers.

Congressman Ichiro Ozawa (third from right) at the announcement of the establishment of a new party on July 11 - Photo: Reuters

MP Ichiro Ozawa and 49 other MPs submitted their resignations to the DP. However, the ruling party did not accept their resignations and decided to expel them from their membership as punishment for their opposition.

The new party founded by Mr. Ozawa, called “For People's Life First” (PLF), has 37 representatives in the lower house and 12 members in the upper house.

This will make it the third largest party in the lower house. Dubbed the “Party Destroyer,” the PLF is the fourth party Mr. Ozawa founded after leaving the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in 1993.

At the party's founding announcement, Mr. Ozawa reaffirmed his opposition to doubling the tax rate to 10% in 2015, while pledging to cut inflation, focus on earthquake reconstruction and administrative reform. "The ruling party has betrayed the Japanese people. I am determined to act as the first goal to prevent the bill from passing," Mr. Ozawa said.

In addition, Mr. Ozawa said that his party aims for a Japan independent of nuclear energy. This is an issue that most Japanese people are particularly concerned about. "About 10% of the world's nuclear power stations are located in our country. We view nuclear energy as a transitional energy and will promote the development of alternative energy," Mr. Ozawa said.

Currently, the DP still maintains a majority in the lower house with 250 seats. Although Mr. Ozawa's departure is expected to help Prime Minister Noda control the DP and implement his policies more easily, Mr. Noda is likely to face an early election.

However, Mr. Ozawa has stated that he is not aiming for a no-confidence vote against Prime Minister Noda. “The reality is that we cannot overcome a no-confidence vote by our own strength,” Mr. Ozawa said.

According to Tuoi Tre - DT