Ogawa, Japanese Centrist Leader, Faces Host of Challenges, 1 Month On

Tokyo, March 13 (Jiji Press)–Junya Ogawa, who took the reins of the Centrist Reform Alliance a month ago, faces a host of challenges, including, most importantly, rebuilding the Japanese opposition party following its humiliating defeat in last month’s parliamentary election. He has held back on grilling government leaders, something that opposition parties usually prefer doing, and instead tried to focus on policy debate. “We’ll do our best to ensure that people can live their lives with peace of mind,” Ogawa told reporters during a trip to Rikuzentakata, Iwate Prefecture, northeastern Japan, on Wednesday, emphasizing his party’s focus on tackling the soaring cost of living. But Ogawa’s approach to the administration of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who leads the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, signals that he still struggles to fix strategy. A parliamentary committee session on Feb. 27 appeared to be the perfect opportunity for Ogawa to grill Takaichi over the revelation that she had distributed gift catalogs to some LDP lawmakers. While criticizing Takaichi for being “out of touch,” he said, “I don’t intend to make a huge fuss over the matter.” At a separate session on Monday, Ogawa blasted Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara, a key minister in the Takaichi administration, for being at a World Baseball Classic game amid the widening conflict in the Middle East. Ogawa also brought up Takaichi’s gift catalog distribution again. “Even if we say we prioritize policies, what we can actually do is limited, in the face of a dominant ruling party,” a mid-ranking lawmaker at Ogawa’s party said. “We’re in the middle of a trial and error period in the search for what can do to win public understanding,” the lawmaker added. The Centrist Reform Alliance was formed shortly before the Feb. 8 House of Representatives election by Lower House members from the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and Komeito, which was previously the LDP’s coalition partner. Momentum for House of Councillors members of the CDP and Komeito to join the alliance has diminished following the defeat in the Lower House election. Ogawa had no choice but to approve plans by the CDP and Komeito to field their own candidates in unified local elections in spring 2027. Moves for a return to liberalism have spread among former CDP members within the alliance, raising the possibility of a further divide with former Komeito members. Another pressing issue that Ogawa confronts is assistance provided to alliance candidates who failed to secure seats in the Lower House election. The alliance has announced plans to launch a crowdfunding project aiming to raise 100 million yen to help such unsuccessful candidates. In addition, Ogawa gave the go-ahead with political fundraising parties, which the CDP had refrained from holding in the wake of the LDP’s slush fund scandal. Many unsuccessful alliance candidates have questioned the establishment of the new party itself, and there are also moves to form a new political group. “We have to re-establish the identity of our party,” Ogawa said at a press conference on March 6, reiterating his determination to rebuild the alliance. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]