A junior lawmaker submitted an application to leave the ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Thursday, a senior party member said, following allegations that she physically and verbally abused a secretary.The LDP leadership urged second-term House of Representatives lawmaker Mayuko Toyota to leave the party, apparently to avoid an adverse impact on its campaign starting Friday for the July 2 Tokyo metropolitan assembly election, with the party already facing headwinds following favoritism allegations against its leader, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Abe has said it was "inevitable" for Toyota t…READ FULL ARTICLE
