Koichi Kato, former secretary general of the Liberal Democratic Party, said Monday that the party should not form a coalition with New Komeito if the LDP secures a majority in the House of Representatives in the next general election.
"If the LDP enjoys a majority in the chamber, the party should solely form the government. If not, it then should consider which party to form a coalition with," Kato said during a press conference in Tokyo.
He also indicated that the LDP should form a coalition with the 21st Century Club, a small parliamentary group in the Lower House, rather than New Komeito or the New Conservative Party, to minimize the size of its coalition.
His remarks may cause friction between Kato and the two smaller coalition partners at a time when he had been reaching out to them with a view to his hoped-for future prime ministership.
The 10-member parliamentary group comprises former LDP members to whom the LDP headquarters did not give party authorization in the June general elections but won seats as independent members. Five of its members still hold their memberships in Kato's faction as independents, even though they have no LDP membership.
During the 21st Century Club's meeting Sunday, Kato said its members should be admitted to the LDP by the end of the extraordinary Diet session to be held from Thursday through Dec 1.