The recently launched New Conservative Party, the smallest force in the tripartite ruling coalition, hopes to maintain its current strength in the June 25 election in order to lay the "moral ground" for the country in the next century.

NCP President Chikage Ogi is emphasizing education and the Constitution as fundamental issues to appeal to the electorate.

"When I go aboard, people often ask me why, in a major economic power like Japan, are juvenile crimes and problems such as bullying at schools and teenage prostitution so prevalent," Ogi said in an interview.