Japan’s socialist party decided Sunday to leave the ruling coalition in a row over a US base on Okinawa, raising pressure on Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama ahead of July elections, Jiji Press reported.
The move came after Hatoyama on Friday dismissed Social Democratic Party (SDP) leader Mizuho Fukushima as his consumer affairs minister.
Fukushima had denounced Hatoyama’s decision to retain the Marine base despite a pre-election promise by the centre-left prime minister to move it off Okinawa island, where the US military presence is hugely unpopular.
“We decided to leave the government at an executive meeting,” Fukushima told a televised news conference. “Everybody told me it was good that I have stuck to my beliefs,” she said.
The SDP has only minimal representation in parliament. But Hatoyama’s Democratic Party of Japan, which dominates the key lower house, needs the help of other parties to secure a majority in the upper house.
The SDP’s departure could further damage Hatoyama’s standing as his approval ratings hover at all-time lows of around 20 percent before the July elections, in which half of the upper house seats will be contested.
