Japan's opposition parties should work together to defeat the ruling Liberal Democratic Party-led coalition at the next general election, veteran lawmaker Seiji Maehara said Thursday, following the launch of his new education-focused party that he hopes can be a unifying force.
"Once again, opposition parties should come together and create a big cluster that can realize a change of power," Maehara said at a news conference. Maehara was foreign minister when the now-defunct Democratic Party of Japan was in power.
The new Free Education for All party led by Maehara, who has left the opposition Democratic Party for the People, aligns in its major policy priority with Nippon Ishin no Kai, a rising opposition party based in Osaka in western Japan.