The Democratic Party for the People (DPFP) decided to break up the party and join together with the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDPJ) on Wednesday. The majority of DPFP lawmakers from both chambers of the Diet supported the party's decision during a general meeting held at a hotel in Tokyo.
All 62 Diet members belonging to the DPFP attended the general meeting. In the middle of the meeting, it was switched to an informal closed-door one, and some attendees were said to have argued that the party should not break up.
Later, at the resumed general meeting, a majority of the members agreed to the breakup. They also confirmed the party's funds, estimated to be around 5 billion yen, will be distributed peacefully with an eye on future party splits. The party also decided to leave future procedures to DPFP President Yuichiro Tamaki and the party's secretary general, Hirofumi Hirano.
After the meeting, Tamaki reiterated to reporters that he "would not participate in the confluence."
Some lawmakers from industrial labor unions of the private sector are cautious about joining the new joint party, making its size a focal point.
Those with knowledge regarding the DPFP and the CDPJ assume 130 to 140 members of both houses of the Diet will join the new party.
The CDPJ is also planning to break up and form a new one. The party's secretary general Tetsuro Fukuyama said at a press conference on Wednesday that he expects the new party will attract "about 150 members."
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