Koike says she will be selective on which Democratic Party candidates she'll accept

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.

Uh oh.

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.

Those would seem to be things to reasonable be against though. Party of Hope isn't much hope after all. Are their policies known enough or are they just being an LDP clone?

All small parties become one Just bec They scare to lose

Here's the selection criterion:

Is the person a member of Nippon Kaigi? Yes - You can be a candidate. No - You cannot be a candidate.

"selective".... we all know you don't like to make decisions.

Hmmmm....  bit like sorting thru the garbage.

We hope to exclude anyone who is not a committed member of Nippon Kaigi?

Reading this article, I'm beginning to think it's not going to make much difference who wins. Will be good to see the back of Abe though.

It's amazing to me how vacuous democratic politics is in Japan. So she cannot win or oust Abe as LDP so they make another LDP party with a different name. In the end, everything remains the same but it's rebranded. Later, this party will become unpopular and some other schlub will create a new brand. Bait and switch I think the game is called. It's a way that uncreative, unimaginative and people lacking energy can stay in control. "We're changing! We're changing!" Just as long as everything stays the same.

Japan is not a functional democracy by any stretch of the imagination.

Its a defacto one party state and has been since '45.

Albeit divided by self interested factionalism.

The supposedly alternative DJP were mostly LDP refugees.

No different from the "No/new/neo Hope" party.

gotta laugh that Hope post war brand cigarettes are still on sale too.

Lots of skeptics.

Yes she may be running a conservative party, but Abe was all talk, setting targets, cronyism, and no real reform action.

If Koike wants to actually implement reforms this would be yuge for Japan.

Lets face it, Japanese people don't want even bigger government and even higher taxes.

They want better, competent, more effective government.

A new party apart from the LDP and its vested interests is a big change, if they could win power.

You shoul be damn happy they ever decided to join you!

Disappointed but not too suprised her husband is an ultra-rightist, she is Nippon Kaigi. I was imagining, hoping for change but setting the bar at...security issues, constitutional change. Is there any hope for politics in Japan?

Maybe this move by the Democratic Party will bring an end to what we today know as liberal parties!?

Because everyone knows that Koikes Party of Hope is more conservative and less liberal than the now former DP-party! Seiji Maehara and Yuriko Koike are both members of the well known group Nippon Kaigi which by now basically run Japan's politics!

Like I said the other day, when all of the members from one party move to another party, it is exactly the same party.

Is she eliminates all those that are having affairs or on the take that would leave about half a dozen.

Why would ANY DP member join her radical right wing shindig? disgusting.

Um, Party Leader Koike, did you forget you're also the Governor of Tokyo, the world's LARGEST city? Are you sure everything's going alright over there and you have enough time to play Political Puppet Master?

By the sounds of it, an alliance with the LDP would work much more smoothly.

It just seems a bit of a nuisance weeding out the riff-raff who have differing ideas.

as politicians go, these are some of the shallowest people...I guess we can take comfort in the comeuppance: after all, Abe and his cronies created the monster Koike by stupidly opposing her in favor of some other even more witless hack...

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.

Kada is one of the really good politicians out there. She has fought off the nuclear establishment. she is a fighter. she would be a good asset for Koike. Also,  the more women Koike fields the more of a glaring difference her party will portray and can attract alot of female voters.

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."

Quite right. Conservative leaders shouldn't allow liberals in their parties, and vice versa. Otherwise you end up with a hopeless shambles like the DP.

shallotsSep. 29  08:46 pm JST

Why would ANY DP member join her radical right wing shindig? disgusting.

I'm surprised that some of them ever left the LDP and joined the DPJ/DP in the first place, they're that right-wing themselves. Liberal DP members with any principles at all should stay well away, however. If there are any.