A Japanese party being launched by popular Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike is in merger talks with the main opposition Democratic Party, the Nikkei business daily reported on Wednesday, adding uncertainty to the outlook for a general election next month.
TOKYO: A Japanese party being launched by popular Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike is in merger talks with the main opposition Democratic Party, the Nikkei business daily reported on Wednesday (Sep 27), adding uncertainty to the outlook for a general election next month.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Monday he would call the snap election to reset his mandate, betting that his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and junior coalition party can keep their majority in parliament’s lower house, where they hold a two-thirds « super majority ».
Abe will dissolve the lower house on Thursday for a vote expected on Oct. 22.
The Nikkei said Koike met Democratic Party leader Seiji Maehara on Tuesday to discuss the possible merger, which could also include another small opposition party.
However, the newspaper said the prospects for a merger were uncertain, since Koike has suggested she was not keen and the move could trigger a split in the Democratic Party.
