People's New Party
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The People's New Party (国民新党 Kokumin Shintō) is a Japanese political party formed on August 17, 2005 in the aftermath of the defeat of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's Japan Post privatisation bills which led to a snap election.
The Kokumin Shinto, headed by former lower house speaker Tamisuke Watanuki, includes former LDP lower house members Shizuka Kamei, Hisaoki Kamei, and House of Councillors members Kensei Hasegawa from the LDP and Tamura Hideaki from the Democratic Party of Japan, the main opposition.
Most of the members of the Kokumin Shinto were formerly members of the Shisuikai (also known as Kamei Faction) of the LDP. Their strong links to the postal lobby forced them to go against Koizumi's plans to privatise the postal system. While Watanuki was made party leader, Kamei was also seen as a public face for the party.
The party was initially almost exclusively defined by its opposition to Koizumi's 'dictatorial' (独裁的dokusaiteki）politics as expressed in the post privatisation debate. Eventually their platform was broadened to include ideals of serving and protecting the people, and engaging in "warm, friendly politics".
In the 2005 snap election, the party was able to retain four seats, matching the pre-election total, with two single-seat members (Watanuki and Shizuka Kamei) and two proportional members (Hisaoki Kamei and new member Masaki Itokawa). However, the overwhelming victory of the LDP, with a new two-thirds majority in the lower house, made it unlikely that they would be able to exert influence on government policy.
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