TOKYO, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- Two more lawmakers submitted requests to leave Japan's main opposition Democratic Party on Friday, in a blow to the party's new leader Seiji Maehara who is trying to contend with disunity.
Hirofumi Ryu and Yuichi Goto, who are fifth and third-term lower house members respectively, are the latest to join the exodus from the party that is struggling to unite and provide a serious threat to the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) led by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
The two lawmakers jumping ship Friday are thought to want to forge an alliance with Goshi Hosono.
Hosono, who had previously held the environment minister's portfolio, left the Democratic Party last month and is looking to join forces with Masaru Wakasa, an independent lawmaker.
The party's secretary general Atsushi Oshima on Friday tried to quash rumors that more lawmakers may announce their decisions to leave the party, despite sources with knowledge of the matter claiming otherwise.
The party's head of upper house affairs, Masayoshi Nataniya, described the latest defections as being "regrettable" and warned that without unity the party would become "weaklings" in the face of the ruling LDP.
"I want them to take notice of the fact that if we aren't united, it'll be one giant ruling Liberal Democratic Party versus a bunch of weaklings," Nataniya was quoted as telling reporters in parliament on Friday.
On Sept. 1, Maehara was selected as the opposition party's new leader and has said that he wants to seize power from Abe's government in the next lower house election and in lower house by-elections to be held next month.
The new leader got off to a rough start, however, as defections aside, the party was hit by a scandal that resulted in a female lawmaker with high prospects leaving the party under a cloud of alleged impropriety.
Maehara will now have his work cut out for him to bring order and unity to his party and win more public support, political analysts here said.
Maehara previously stated that the party must "change this dangerous current political situation, in which the public can only choose the LDP, or pin their hopes on something whose form is still unknown."
He vowed that together with his members he would break the party out of its difficult situation "for the sake of the Japanese public."
Maehara previously led the main opposition party when it was known as the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ). The party was in power between 2009 and 2012.
The Democratic Party's presidential election was brought about after former leader Renho announced her resignation from the top post following a dismal performance by the party in the Tokyo metropolitan assembly election in July.
The opposition camp has, however, to some extent, been realigning itself to better tackle the LDP in the next lower house election, with Maehara himself stating that unity is key to the party's and the opposition camp's future success.
