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▼ Koike Says She Will Be Selective on Which Democratic Party Candidates She'll Accept
- Category:Event
TOKYO - Tokyo Gov Yuriko Koike, who this week founded a new political party, said Friday she will be selective in allowing members of the moribund main opposition Democratic Party to stand as candidates with her party in next month's lower house election.
Koike and Democratic Party leader Seiji Maehara met in the morning after Maehara got his party's agreement Thursday to effectively disband, letting its members run with the new Kibo no To (Party of Hope) in the Oct 22 election to unify the vote against the administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Koike said after the meeting that she has been given a list of Democratic Party members who want to run with Kibo no To, but has "no intention of taking them all on."
"I want to narrow (the list) down from various standpoints, like how well they can fit in with our policies," she said.
While an influx of candidates will allow the fledging party to compete in more electoral districts nationwide, Koike is likely wary of the Democratic Party's sizeable liberal wing and baggage from its turbulent three years in government through 2012 as the Democratic Party of Japan.
Kibo no To founding member Goshi Hosono, formerly of the Democratic Party, said Thursday that new entrants will be required to share a "realistic" national security stance and a desire to propose an amendment to the Constitution.
He said it "would be tough" to welcome to the party anyone in favor of scrapping security legislation brought in by the Abe administration that came into force last year, controversially expanding the Self-Defense Forces' role overseas.
With little time to sort out the list before official campaigning starts on Oct 10, "the important point is that we fight (together) in this coming election as allies," Koike said after meeting Maehara.
Maehara told reporters after the meeting that he and Koike had agreed to "coordinate with each other to aim for a change of government."
Hosono said Thursday he wants "those with experience leading one of the three branches of government" -- which includes former prime ministers Naoto Kan and Yoshihiko Noda -- to refrain from joining the new party.
Koike denied Friday that this was already party policy. "It's one way of thinking, but I want to move forward (with a decision) comprehensively," she said.
She again denied that she has any intention of resigning as governor to run for election in the lower house. Koike was a lawmaker with Abe's Liberal Democratic Party before successfully running against its candidate in last year's gubernatorial election.
"I won't run. I've been saying this since before," Koike said.
The Abe administration's top spokesman spoke dismissively Friday of the cooperation between Koike and Maehara, saying the two parties have "completely different" views on national security and whether to go ahead with a consumption tax increase planned for October 2019.
"I think the fact that they've become a single party in just one night, without any discussion of policy, shows that they're just trying to get the numbers together for the election," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a press conference.
Abe dissolved the House of Representatives on Thursday for an election that he said is about fiscal policy and response to North Korea, but appears timed to catch the opposition unprepared.
Trade minister Hiroshige Seko on Friday criticized Koike's denial that she will stand in the election herself, saying she "needs to properly come out into national politics and make clear that (her party) will designate her as preferred prime minister."
Koike said she will hold a meeting on Saturday with Osaka Gov Ichiro Matsui and Aichi Gov Hideaki Omura, who governs the area around Nagoya in central Japan.
The Japan Innovation Party, led by Matsui, shares common policies with Koike's party including opposition to the consumption tax hike. But Matsui has warned that coordination would be "impossible" if the entire Democratic Party is accepted into Kibo no To.
Yukiko Kada, former governor of Shiga Prefecture in western Japan, is considering standing in the election, sources close to the matter said Friday. She is expected to approach Koike's new party due to their shared antinuclear stance.
© KYODO
Koike and Democratic Party leader Seiji Maehara met in the morning after Maehara got his party's agreement Thursday to effectively disband, letting its members run with the new Kibo no To (Party of Hope) in the Oct 22 election to unify the vote against the administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Koike said after the meeting that she has been given a list of Democratic Party members who want to run with Kibo no To, but has "no intention of taking them all on."
"I want to narrow (the list) down from various standpoints, like how well they can fit in with our policies," she said.
While an influx of candidates will allow the fledging party to compete in more electoral districts nationwide, Koike is likely wary of the Democratic Party's sizeable liberal wing and baggage from its turbulent three years in government through 2012 as the Democratic Party of Japan.
Kibo no To founding member Goshi Hosono, formerly of the Democratic Party, said Thursday that new entrants will be required to share a "realistic" national security stance and a desire to propose an amendment to the Constitution.
He said it "would be tough" to welcome to the party anyone in favor of scrapping security legislation brought in by the Abe administration that came into force last year, controversially expanding the Self-Defense Forces' role overseas.
With little time to sort out the list before official campaigning starts on Oct 10, "the important point is that we fight (together) in this coming election as allies," Koike said after meeting Maehara.
Maehara told reporters after the meeting that he and Koike had agreed to "coordinate with each other to aim for a change of government."
Hosono said Thursday he wants "those with experience leading one of the three branches of government" -- which includes former prime ministers Naoto Kan and Yoshihiko Noda -- to refrain from joining the new party.
Koike denied Friday that this was already party policy. "It's one way of thinking, but I want to move forward (with a decision) comprehensively," she said.
She again denied that she has any intention of resigning as governor to run for election in the lower house. Koike was a lawmaker with Abe's Liberal Democratic Party before successfully running against its candidate in last year's gubernatorial election.
"I won't run. I've been saying this since before," Koike said.
The Abe administration's top spokesman spoke dismissively Friday of the cooperation between Koike and Maehara, saying the two parties have "completely different" views on national security and whether to go ahead with a consumption tax increase planned for October 2019.
"I think the fact that they've become a single party in just one night, without any discussion of policy, shows that they're just trying to get the numbers together for the election," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a press conference.
Abe dissolved the House of Representatives on Thursday for an election that he said is about fiscal policy and response to North Korea, but appears timed to catch the opposition unprepared.
Trade minister Hiroshige Seko on Friday criticized Koike's denial that she will stand in the election herself, saying she "needs to properly come out into national politics and make clear that (her party) will designate her as preferred prime minister."
Koike said she will hold a meeting on Saturday with Osaka Gov Ichiro Matsui and Aichi Gov Hideaki Omura, who governs the area around Nagoya in central Japan.
The Japan Innovation Party, led by Matsui, shares common policies with Koike's party including opposition to the consumption tax hike. But Matsui has warned that coordination would be "impossible" if the entire Democratic Party is accepted into Kibo no To.
Yukiko Kada, former governor of Shiga Prefecture in western Japan, is considering standing in the election, sources close to the matter said Friday. She is expected to approach Koike's new party due to their shared antinuclear stance.
© KYODO
- September 29, 2017
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