Shigeru Ishiba, minister in charge of regional revitalization, met with several followers Thursday for preparatory talks on launching his own faction within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party by the end of this month.
The participants included former vice finance minister Yoshihisa Furukawa, former financial services minister Yuji Yamamoto and former environment minister Ichiro Kamoshita. The three are expected to become executives within the faction.
After Thursday's meeting, one of Ishiba's key followers said they expected about 20 members to join the planned group, which would make it the sixth-largest of the LDP's eight factions.