Shinshinto, the largest opposition party, is losing another member, it was announced July 11.
Kenji Kitahashi, the first member of the now-defunct Japan Democratic Socialist Party to leave Shinshinto, expressed to the party his intention to leave, but the Shinshinto secretary general has refused to accept his letter of resignation. Kitahashi told a news conference in Tokyo that he regrets that his letter was not accepted, but that his determination to quit the party will not change.
"I have been thinking about leaving the party since April," Kitahashi said. "I cannot work with the party any more since I don't agree with its policies and the way party chief (Ichiro) Ozawa manages the party." Kitahashi denied a report that he may join a study group to be organized by the secretary general of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and Kazuo Aichi, who quit Shinshinto on July 7. He said he would like to work without being in any party for a while and take a stance in an anticonservative alliance.