New party unveiled in Tokyo

Former Tokyo governor Shintaro Ishihara on Tuesday unveiled his new party, marking the latest round of Japanese political turmoil before the expected lower house dissolution and general election.

Also on Tuesday, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, haunted by record low popularity, received a rare rebuke from inside his own party over his plan to dissolve the lower house before the end of the year.

Yet observers said the right-wing 80-year-old Ishihara, who is known for his ambition to be a third force in the country's politics, will not win much nationwide in the upcoming major electoral reshuffle.

Ishihara's Party of Sun, incorporating all five members of the conservative opposition Sunrise Party, aims to achieve a "stronger Japan" and forge a "third force" to challenge major ruling and opposition parties in the looming general election, Japan's Kyodo News Agency said.

"The Party of Sun is only the first step. Unity in the common interests will be achieved before the next election of the house of representatives," Japan's Asahi Shimbun newspaper quoted Ishihara as saying.

Ishihara also named the Sunrise Party, and "the similar title Ishihara came up with for his new party shows his lack of creativity and talent," said Wang Xinsheng, a professor of Japanese studies at Peking University.

The new party aims to join hands with Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto's Japan Restoration Party and the minor opposition Your Party to form the third trunk of Japanese national politics, Kyodo said.

"Yet the new party's influence may be much smaller than expected, and its popularity will fade away like bubbles," said Wang, who indicated that the new party may attract a few votes in the upcoming election whose impact will not last long in the lower house.

The former governor has been notorious for his bid to "purchase" the Diaoyu Islands, a move unveiled in April that inflamed the territorial dispute over the islands between China and Japan He resigned in late October to form his own national political party.

Meanwhile, Noda on Tuesday indicated his plan to dissolve the lower house during a parliament speech, yet the committee of standing executives of his ruling Democratic Party of Japan has officially expressed disagreement over his plan.

The message of the party's powerful figures was delivered to Noda by Azuma Koshiishi, the general secretary of the DPJ.

The Tokyo Broadcasting System said it is rare for the party's policymaking organ to challenge a party leader's plan.

There have been calls to boycott the lower house dissolution within the ruling DPJ, and the conflict continues to escalate, Japan's Jiji Press News Agency said.

Noda may face a challenge within his party if he continues to push for an early date to dissolve the lower house over objections from fellow party members, analysts said.

Lu Yaodong, director of the department of Japanese diplomacy of the Institute of Japanese Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said Noda is indicating, without saying so outright, that his faith in his ability to maintain his position is shaky.

"The conflicting opinions within his ruling party need coordination, yet it remains to be seen how far they can go in coordinating," Lu warned.

In the latest Asahi Shimbun poll released on Tuesday, the approval rating for his cabinet slipped to a mere 18 percent while the disapproval rating rose to a whopping 64 percent.

An election defeat would mean Noda, who took office in September 2011, would become the sixth Japanese leader to leave the prime minister's residence after about a year in office, Agence France-Presse said.

Noda's party needs to make an early decision on dissolving the lower house, or it will face more challenges from minor parties, including Ishihara's Party of Sun, Lu added.

zhangyunbi@chinadaily.com.cn