By The Straits Times | Created at 2026-08-31 12:16:32 | Updated at 2026-08-31 13:19:32
1 hour ago
TOKYO - The chief of Japan’s largest opposition party in the powerful House of Representatives effectively confirmed on Aug 31 that it will split, following the failure of merger talks with other forces.
The break-up of the Centrist Reform Alliance (CRA) comes around seven months after it was established in January by Lower House lawmakers from the left-leaning Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDPJ) and Komeito, which was the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s (LDP) coalition partner for 26 years.
CRA leader Junya Ogawa said at a meeting of party leaders that he hopes to find “a new framework” to allow members to “restart” efforts to achieve a change of government.
He added that he called for the CRA and Komeito to seek to form a parliamentary group in the Lower House, and maintain existing cooperation among the three parties.
Talks on incorporating Upper House lawmakers from the two parties into the CRA effectively collapsed on Aug 28 amid CDPJ resistance to the move, ending discussions on a full merger aimed at countering the ruling coalition led by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.
In the February general election, the alliance won 49 seats in the Lower House, which is controlled by Japan’s conservative Prime Minister Takaichi’s LDP and its coalition partner, the Japan Innovation Party.
The scale of its defeat in the Lower House election stalled moves to unify Komeito and CDPJ further.
As talks on the merger continued, lawmakers of the two parties have continued to sit separately in the Upper House where the ruling coalition does not hold a majority.
The departure of all 28 former Komeito members from the CRA would reduce it to 21 seats, making it the third-largest opposition party in the Lower House.
The former Komeito lawmakers’ group would tie for the top spot in the chamber with the Democratic Party for the People, both on 28 seats.
The focus will now shift to the opposition parties’ future cooperation ahead of unified local elections in 2027, with political analysts saying the fragmentation of the opposition camp will benefit the ruling parties.
After months of talks, CDPJ leader Shunichi Mizuoka said in a meeting with his counterparts from the alliance and Komeito on Aug 28 that his party would not join the alliance. KYODO NEWS
