Kunio Hatoyama, who resigned last week as internal affairs and communications minister, did not rule out the possibility Monday of leaving the ruling Liberal Democratic Party to form a new party.
"I have no intention at the moment either to leave the LDP or to create a new party," Hatoyama told a news conference at the internal affairs ministry. But he also suggested he may do so if circumstances change.
Hatoyama was effectively sacked Friday by Prime Minister Taro Aso after putting Aso in a bind for several weeks over the management of Japan Post Holdings Co., a body set up as a result of postal privatization reform.