Japanese lawmaker defects from ruling party
JAPAN - A senior lawmaker defected from Japan’s ruling party Tuesday,
denouncing beleaguered Prime Minister Taro Aso as an “old-guard crony”
and casting a shadow over his controversial moves to revive the economy.
Yoshimi Watanabe, former minister for administrative reforms, had
pressed Aso to call snap elections to win a mandate and scrap a plan for
cash handouts to the public totalling two trillion yen (22 billion
dollars).
Tokyo, Tuesday, AFP
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