Japan's main opposition CDPJ, Komeito announce name of new centrist party

TOKYO - The leaders of Japan's main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDPJ) and Komeito announced Friday the new party they have agreed to form will be named the Centrist Reform Alliance, as they move to unite centrist forces ahead of a possible snap election.

CDPJ leader and former prime minister Yoshihiko Noda and Komeito leader Tetsuo Saito made the announcement at a joint news conference in Tokyo, noting members of the two parties will accelerate procedures such as changes in party affiliation and jointly challenge the ruling bloc led by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in the expected lower house election.

The new party will focus on uniting centrist forces in Japan, placing political reform, as well as pragmatic diplomacy and security policies, at the core of its policies, said the party leaders.

Japanese media reported that the new party is considering a co-leadership structure, with Noda and Saito serving jointly as party heads. A total of 172 lower house lawmakers currently belonging to the CDPJ and Komeito are expected to be the first to join the new party, while lawmakers in the upper house and local governments would remain in their original parties.

Komeito terminated its coalition with the ruling Liberal Democratic Party in October 2025 and has since called for the consolidation of centrist forces to counter the Takaichi-led camp. The CDPJ has also sought closer cooperation with Komeito.

As Takaichi earlier this week indicated her intention to dissolve the lower house at an early stage of the Diet session starting on Jan 23, the CDPJ and Komeito accelerated their coordination and agreed to form a new centrist party on Thursday.