In defiance of LDP President Junichiro Koizumi's decision to enforce an age limit on candidates, a local chapter of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party is to ask the party's headquarters to field former Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone as a candidate in the upcoming general election.
On Saturday, the LDP chapter in Gunma Prefecture, Nakasone's home constituency, adopted a resolution to seek official permission to place Nakasone on the LDP's list of candidates for the Kita Kanto proportional representation bloc for the House of Representatives election on Nov. 9.
Nakasone, 85, on Thursday rejected overtures by Koizumi, who is both prime minister and LDP president, to persuade him to retire from politics ahead of the general election in line with the age rule.
The rule bans candidates over the age of 73 from running in the proportional representation segment of the Lower House election, but it does not cover candidates running for election in single-seat constituencies.