Ogawa Elected Leader of Centrist Reform Alliance

Tokyo, Feb. 13 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese opposition Centrist Reform Alliance on Friday elected Junya Ogawa, former secretary-general of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, as its new leader. Ogawa, 54, gained 27 of the votes cast by the new party’s 49 House of Representatives lawmakers, compared with 22 votes for his sole contender, Takeshi Shina, 59, former parliamentary vice minister of internal affairs and communications, who is also from the CDP. The Centrist Reform Alliance was formed by the CDP and Komeito ahead of last Sunday’s election for the all-important lower chamber of the Diet, Japan’s parliament, in which the party suffered a crushing defeat. Its co-leaders, Yoshihiko Noda from the CDP, and Tetsuo Saito from Komeito, resigned to take responsibility for the defeat. The biggest challenge for Ogawa is to rebuild the party, following the election blunder and amid frustration among members originating from the CDP over the fact that candidates from Komeito were given precedence in the general election, being placed high on the new party’s proportional representation lists. At his inaugural press conference Friday, Ogawa showed plans to form the Centrist Reform Alliance’s new executive team early next week. The focus is who will be appointed secretary-general, a crucial role in party management. He expressed eagerness to “strike a balance,” emphasizing the need to create a harmony within the party and let female and young members play important roles. Ogawa sounded cautious about the Centrist Reform Alliance’s participation in a national congress planned to be set up by the administration of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi for discussions on issues including a possible consumption tax cut. Earlier Friday, Ogawa told reporters that it would be possible to clearly mention the Self-Defense Forces in the Constitution, in reference to a potential review of pacifist Article 9 of the country’s supreme law. He said he upholds the party’s basic policies, which tolerate the restart of idled nuclear reactors and suggest the country’s national security laws are constitutional. Of the new party’s lawmakers, 28 are former Komeito members. None of them ran in the leadership election. Ogawa’s term as party leader will run until March 2027. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]