Social Democrats leave Japan's ruling coalition over US base
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Japan's socialist party has decided to leave the country's ruling coalition in a row over a controversial US base.
The move is seen as putting pressure on prime minister Yukio Hatoyama ahead of elections in July.
It comes after Mr Hatoyama sacked the Social Democratic Party chief, Mizuho Fukushima, from the job of consumer affairs minister on Friday.
Mr Fukushima had opposed the prime minister's decision to keep the US military base on Okinawa despite a pre-election promise to change an agreement on the base reached by a former Japanese government with Washington in 2006.
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