A showdown between opposition parties is intensifying, with the new conservative party Kibo no To (Party of Hope) set to launch an offensive in the upcoming Lower House election against the left-leaning Constitutional Democratic Party led by Yukio Edano, a former senior member of the Democratic Party.
Kibo no To, led by Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike, plans to field 23 candidates in Tokyo's 25 single-seat districts to actively target senior members of the new liberal party established by Edano, including former Prime Minister Naoto Kan; former Health, Labor and Welfare Minister Akira Nagatsuma, who chaired the DP's election campaign committee; and Banri Kaieda, a former trade and industry minister.
The governor's party also plans to field candidates against Edano in Saitama Prefecture, as well as other CDP members such as former Lower House Vice Speaker Hirotaka Akamatsu in Aichi Prefecture and Tomoko Abe in Kanagawa Prefecture.