TOKYO, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- Yukio Edano, deputy president of the effectively disbanded main opposition Democratic Party, will form a new political party comprising liberal members, local media quoted informed sources as saying Monday.
The members of the new party will be made up of those who will likely be excluded from running on Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike's Party of Hope ticket in the general election.
Democratic Party President Seiji Maehara has said that his members would be allowed to run in the Oct. 22 lower house election with Koike's Kibo no To (Party of Hope).
The alliance between both parties was agreed upon by their leaders to better stand against the administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Koike, however, has said that she will vet the Democratic Party candidates wanting to run on her party's ticket to ensure they share the same views on issues of national security and amending the constitution, among others.
Observers have said that Koike will likely exclude Democratic Party candidates who hold particularly liberal views, with Edano stating that it is necessary to form a new party for Democrats who still uphold the party's principles.
Democratic Party Vice President Shoichi Kondo, Akira Nagatsuma, who chairs the party's election campaign committee, and Hirotaka Akamatsu, a former vice speaker of the lower house, are expected to join Edano's party, Kyodo News quoted sources close to the matter as saying.
Koike's Party of Hope will announce later this week its list of candidates, which is expected to comprise around 200 names, half of whom are from the moribund Democratic Party.
