Ex-Japan Opposition Heavyweight Negative on Forming New Party

Saitama, Oct. 26 (Jiji Press)--Former Japanese opposition heavyweight Yukio Edano has sounded negative about forming a new political party.

Discussing his future political activities at a meeting with his supporters in the city of Saitama, north of Tokyo, on Saturday, Edano said: "Once a political party is established, it should not be changed as much as possible. I am basically thinking about how we should make much of parties that we have now."

Edano, former chief cabinet secretary, failed to retain his House of Representatives seat in the Feb. 8 general election for the lower chamber of the Diet, the country's parliament, in which he ran on a ticket of the opposition Centrist Reform Alliance.

The CRA was formed in January, in the lead-up to the election, by then Lower House members of the opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and Komeito.

The CRA initially planned to merge with the CDP and Komeito following the Lower House poll. But the integration plan was canceled in the wake of the CRA's crushing defeat in the election, and the party was effectively disbanded in September. Former CRA members who are originally from the CDP launched the new opposition Democratic Reform Party later that month.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]