Former administrative reform minister Yoshimi Watanabe, who quit the ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Tuesday, announced Friday he will form a political campaign group with lawmaker Kenji Eda and two analysts.
Watanabe, 56, told reporters the group was not a new party but a "people's movement" aimed at changing a political situation that he said is controlled by the bureaucrats in Kasumigaseki, the nerve center of the government.
"It goes without saying that Kasumigaseki is controlling politics, controlling the public through its 'amakudari' (the appointment of retired civil servants to high positions in quasi-governmental corporations) network and by controlling local governments as well," Watanabe said. "This movement is aimed at breaking free from that system."
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