The New Nation - Internet Edition

Reuters, Tokyo

A reform-minded former financial minister left Japan's ruling party on Tuesday in a sign that unpopular Prime Minister Taro Aso's grip over his Liberal Democrats has weakened further, ahead of an election this year.

With public support ratings below 20 percent, Aso is struggling to exert leadership in the face of an emboldened opposition, which controls parliament's upper house and has threatened to stall bills in a bid to force an early election.

Aso, 68, has ruled out a snap poll, but Yoshimi Watanabe, an ex-financial services minister and other lawmakers in the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) are turning up the heat as anxiety grows about the chances of the party losing more than 50 years of near-unbroken rule.