A close ally of Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike who helped an upstart group crush the long-ruling Liberal Democratic Party in Tokyo's local elections two months ago is setting up a political organization to attempt a similar feat at the national level.
Masaru Wakasa is sifting through hundreds of applications from around the country for entry to a "political school," with a view to having some run for the Diet under a party he will establish by December, the lawmaker and former LDP member said in an interview.
Abe has faced little coherent opposition since he took office in 2012, even though his popularity has waned amid a series of scandals ahead of elections due by December next year. The main opposition Democratic Party, mired by in-house bickering, has failed to generate any bump in public support even after it chose a new leader last week.