Japan Opposition CRA, CDP, Komeito Agree to Form New Structure

Tokyo, July 2 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Centrist Reform Alliance, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and Komeito on Thursday agreed that it is desirable for the three opposition parties to establish a new political structure before an extraordinary session of the Diet, Japan’s parliament, expected to be held this autumn. They reached the agreement when their secretaries-general held a meeting the same day to begin discussions on a possible three-way merger. The parties will continue their discussions at a pace of roughly once a week. “We will aim to enter this autumn’s (possible) extraordinary Diet session under a new structure,” CRA Secretary-General Takeshi Shina told reporters after the meeting. “It would be ideal if we could narrow down our options before the current special Diet session ends.” Also speaking to reporters, Komeito Secretary-General Makoto Nishida said, “We agreed to participate in the extraordinary Diet session under the new political structure.” CDP Secretary-General Masayo Tanabu said, “We confirmed that we will aim to determine a clear direction by the time of the extraordinary Diet session.” The leaders of the three parties agreed on Friday to start discussions on the possible merger. They reaffirmed that they will discuss three key issues: organizational structure, policies and elections. The CRA and Komeito hope to outline the direction of the merger as early as during the current Diet session, which is scheduled to close on July 17, while cautious voices remain strong within the CDP. The focus will be on how far the three can bridge their differences through further discussions. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]