Former Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka, after joining a parliamentary group led by the Democratic Party of Japan, lashed out Wednesday at Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's policies as she formally made her comeback to the Diet.
Wednesday was the first day of business for the 480 Lower House members who were elected in the general election Nov. 9.
Tanaka, who won back the seat in her Niigata Prefecture district as an independent, told reporters at the Diet building that Koizumi, head of the Liberal Democratic Party, has failed to carry out reforms or destroy "the old" LDP as promised.