An ally of Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike who plans to set up a new party this year has said the envisoned party will aim to revise the pacifist Constitution.
Masaru Wakasa, an independent in the House of Representatives, told reporters Friday he has agreed with two lawmakers who supported Koike's Tomin First no Kai (Tokyoites First) in the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election last month to seek an amendment to the supreme code's Chapter 8 on local self-government.
As for the envisaged party, Wakasa said it can be formed as long as it can gather at least five Diet members.
Wakasa, who belonged to the ruling Liberal Democratic Party but left to support Koike, now heads a new political group called Nippon First no Kai (Japan First).
Wakasa met with Shigefumi Matsuzawa, a House of Councilors lawmaker, and Akihisa Nagashima, a former vice defense minister who was expelled from the Democratic Party, in Tokyo, where they agreed on the possibility of forming a party together if they can coordinate their policies.
Former Environment Minister Goshi Hosono, who recently left the main opposition DP, is also seeking to form a new party and is exploring the possibility of forming an alliance with Wakasa. Hosono is also seeking to amend Chapter 8 to expand the authority of local governments.