As Nippon Mirai no To (Tomorrow Party of Japan) leader Yukiko Kada tours Japan drumming up support for her new group's candidates in the Dec. 16 election, she is facing a growing backlash in Shiga Prefecture, where she's the governor.
Political opponents, especially in the Liberal Democratic Party — which controls 25 of the 46 prefectural assembly seats in Shiga — are threatening to block Kada's local initiatives and are discussing lawsuits, while even her closest political supporters say she made a mistake by joining hands with Ichiro Ozawa, a former president of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan.
Forming Nippon Mirai could well end up costing her in Shiga's 2014 gubernatorial election.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.