Aiming to provide a counterbalance to the sweeping rise of conservative forces in Japan's political arena, a former Democratic Party lawmaker announced Monday he will establish a new liberal-minded party to maximize the chances of dethroning Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Yukio Edano, an eight-term lawmaker, said he will head the new party, which will be named Rikken Minshu To. This roughly translates as Party of Constitutionalism and Democracy.
"I've decided to found this new party to protect the livelihood of Japanese people, constitutionalism, democracy and their free society," Edano, 53, told a packed news conference. "I hope the public will support our bid to put a stop to the Abe administration, which is spiraling out of control."
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