Japan‘s centrist opposition alliance was teetering on the edge of dissolution on Monday, as sources indicated that former Komeito members who had joined the coalition only months earlier might withdraw. The setback came after talks on integrating Komeito and the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDPJ) into the Centrist Reform Alliance—a three‑way merger aimed at challenging the ruling coalition led by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi—collapsed.
The leaders of the three opposition parties were slated to convene later in the day to formally decide the fate of the proposed merger.
The Centrist Reform Alliance, established in January, commands 49 seats in the House of Representatives—the more powerful lower chamber—following the February general election. Of those seats, 28 belong to Komeito and 21 to the CDPJ, while the chamber itself is dominated by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner, the Japan Innovation Party.
Komeito and CDPJ lawmakers continue to sit separately in the House of Councillors, where the ruling coalition lacks a majority.
Attention now turns to the opposition’s future coordination ahead of next year’s unified local elections, with analysts warning that further fragmentation of the opposition will only bolster the ruling camp.
After months of negotiations, CDPJ leader Shunichi Mizuoka told his counterparts from the Centrist Reform Alliance and Komeito on Friday that his party would not join the alliance.
His proposal to explore alternative forms of cooperation, such as forming a joint caucus in the upper house, was rebuffed by a senior Komeito executive.
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