Junichiro Koizumi's structural reform drive may have the backing of voters in big cities, but people in Hokkaido and other rural regions feel abandoned by the prime minister.
Or so says Muneo Suzuki, a Hokkaido native and former LDP lawmaker currently on trial on bribery charges.
Suzuki, who ran unsuccessfully as an independent in the House of Councilors election last month, claims that Koizumi's urban-oriented policies led to the defeat of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party in the election.