The launch of a new political party announced Tuesday by Shiga Gov. Yukiko Kada was greeted with caution and skepticism by existing political forces, who said her plan to create a new force centered on an antinuclear agenda could easily collapse once the Dec. 16 Lower House election is over.
"Japan's politics would lose trust if the new party is only aimed at winning the election," Liberal Democratic Party President Shinzo Abe said, referring to the launch of Nippon Mirai no To (Japan Future Party) earlier in the day.
Abe questioned if the party can work out policy differences among various small groups, including people close to Kada and members who came from Ichiro Ozawa's Kokumin no Seikatsu ga Daiichi (People's Life First), which disbanded Tuesday to merge with Kada's party.