Four Upper House lawmakers Friday declared the formation of Kaikaku Club, a tentative new party, saying they want to change the situation in the currently divided Diet.
But a fifth lawmaker, the Democratic Party of Japan's Yumiko Himei, who had earlier declared she would join the new party, reversed herself. Appearing in a news conference later Friday with DPJ executives Naoto Kan and Yukio Hatoyama, she said she will remain in the fold.
The four include Hideo Watanabe and Yasuhiro Oe, who resigned Thursday from the DPJ, and independents Hiroyuki Arai and Shinpei Matsushita. They said they submitted a request to form the five-member party Thursday and it was accepted. But since five members are required to form a party, the four must find another recruit.