In a development that could create further tensions between the two main factions of soon to be divided Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Restoration Party), co-leader Toru Hashimoto and Your Party head Keiichiro Asao announced a plan to coordinate key policies with the aim of forming a political alliance after Nippon Ishin's formal breakup.
The move comes as Nippon Ishin's 62 Diet members prepare for the party's split into two groups. One will be headed by co-leader Shintaro Ishihara and his mostly Tokyo and eastern Japan allies. The other one includes Hashimoto and his largely Osaka and western Japan-based allies, who are expected to merge with Yui no To's 14 Diet members later this summer.
But the move to repair relations between Hashimoto and Your Party — damaged by Hashimoto's statement last year that Japan's wartime "comfort women" system was necessary at the time — is likely to irritate the Ishihara faction, which had also hoped to attract Your Party members after the split.