Liberal Democratic Party heavyweight Shizuka Kamei held talks Tuesday about forming a new party with several lawmakers who lost LDP backing for the Sept. 11 general election by opposing postal privatization.
Despite lingering reluctance by some, Kamei has proposed the move after offering to step down Monday as head of his LDP faction. His opposition to the postal bills has left the faction's members in a bind before the House of Representatives election.
Kamei, a former LDP policy chief who has spearheaded opposition to Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's postal privatization, said he expects some 30 members to line up with the new party.