A very short-lived party

December 27, 2012

Antinuclear Tomorrow Party of Japan to split over internal feud 1 month after launch

http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20121227p2a00m0na008000c.html

Just one month after its hasty launch ahead of the Dec. 16 House of Representatives election, the anti-nuclear power Tomorrow Party of Japan (TPJ) is set to break apart in the face of internal wrangling over key party posts including one for political heavyweight and powerbroker Ichiro Ozawa.

Shiga Gov. Yukiko Kada, who heads the fledgling TPJ, said at a news conference at the Shiga Prefectural Government's office on Dec. 26, "We are exploring a way to split peacefully." Former Financial Services Minister Shizuka Kamei vowed to leave the party the same day, saying, "The party does not have a sense of unity any longer." The TPJ is likely to come under fire for its internal squabbling only one month after it was launched.

The TPJ has 17 legislators -- nine House of Representatives members and eight House of Councillors members. But 15 of them come from the People's Life First (PLF) party that was headed by Ozawa. Therefore, it remains unclear how the party will split.

The initial internal conflict broke out at a joint meeting of party members of both houses of the Diet on the evening of Dec. 24. Lawmakers who come from PLF turned their back on Kada's proposal to appoint Tomoko Abe, former policy chief of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), as co-leader of the TPJ. The internal feud deepened further as the lawmakers originally from the PLF subsequently moved to pass a motion calling for Ozawa to be named as party co-leader.

Over the nomination for prime minister in a special Diet session, the lawmakers originally from the PLF decided at a Dec. 26 joint meeting of party members of both houses of the Diet to vote for deputy party leader Yuko Mori, while Kada insisted on a free vote. The lawmakers originally from the PLF voted for Mori as prime minister in both houses of the Diet. But Kamei and Tomoko Abe cast blank votes.

Kada announced the launch of the TPJ on Nov. 27. Ozawa had initially expressed his intention not to assume a key party post for the time being, but high expectations began to be placed on him following the party's setback in the Dec. 16 general election.

Tomoko Abe told reporters, "It's a Narita divorce," referring to divorces that occur soon after a honeymoon overseas.