Most Local CDP Members Cautious on 3-Way Integration

Tokyo, Aug. 21 (Jiji Press)–Most local members of the opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan are cautious about a proposed integration of the party and two other opposition parties, the Centrist Reform Alliance and Komeito, ahead of a series of local elections scheduled for spring 2027. On Thursday, the CDP largely finished meetings with local party members for the exchange of opinions on the three-way integration. With the deadline for concluding the integration talks among the three parties effectively set at the end of this month, the leadership team of the CDP aims to form a consensus on the matter within the party next week. Senior CDP official Masayo Tanabu attended a local gathering held in Sapporo, the capital of the northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido, on Thursday. At the meeting, an executive of the CDP’s Hokkaido chapter quoted some local party members as saying: “We have decided to fight next year’s unified local elections under the framework of the CDP. So we want (the leadership team) to ensure that moves by the party will not negatively affect (our campaign activities).” In reply, Tanabu said, “We hope to show a certain direction by the end of this month based on opinions from across the country.” With in mind the possibility of realizing the proposed merger this autumn, the CRA, the CDP and Komeito kicked off talks among their secretaries-general and other officials in July on specific issues, such as the method of integration, policy coordination and electoral cooperation. The move came after the February general election for the House of Representatives, the all-important lower chamber of Japan’s parliament, in which the CRA faced a major setback. The CRA was launched in January, in the run-up to the election, by then Lower House members of the CDP and Komeito. On July 31, the three opposition parties drew up an interim report in which they vowed to make efforts with the aim of reaching a conclusion at the end of August. The CDP then kicked off local meetings in the 11 blocs of the country. Many regional representatives expressed cautious views, with one local assembly member saying, “Why do we need to merge with the CRA, which suffered a humiliating defeat in the Lower House election?” The CDP’s Tokyo chapter informed the leadership team of its opposition to the three-way integration, citing the results of a survey in which about 80 pct of responding local assembly members said the CDP should continue to exist. “I didn’t expect so many local party members are against” the integration, a senior CDP official said. Meanwhile, a middle-ranking CDP lawmaker said that it would be very difficult to boost the party’s presence unless the current situation is changed. Executives of the CDP apparently believe that it needs to increase support among not only liberal people who have backed up the party but also unaffiliated voters as it aims to fare strongly in constituencies where only one seat will be contested in the 2028 election for the House of Councillors, the upper chamber of parliament. The party leadership team plans to form a consensus on the proposed integration with the CRA and Komeito by holding a gathering of member lawmakers and a national meeting among local secretaries-general next week. “It would be quite difficult to draw up a conclusion that is different from the opinions of local members as the CDP has a bottom-up approach in running the party,” an official said, suggesting that it would be tough to form a consensus on the three-way integration. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]