Japan anti-nuclear groups join forces ahead of December national poll
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TOKYO (AFP) - Anti-nuclear parties were coalescing into a new political grouping on Wednesday, as Japan's fragmented electoral landscape shifts ahead of next month's national poll.
At least three recently-sprouted parties were readying to fold into Mirai No To (The Future of Japan Party) on a platform of ridding the Fukushima-scarred country of atomic power.
The party is being headed by a high-profile regional politician, Ms Yukiko Kada, and its formation comes as opinion polls show the December 16 election is likely to leave no political party with sufficient seats to govern alone.
"We will create a new party, in response to people saying they don't have any party to choose from at the moment," Ms Kada told a press conference near Lake Biwa, Japan's largest, in a region with a number of ageing nuclear reactors.
