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View all search resultsMajor Japanese opposition party seeks policy consensus in bid to take power
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Yuichiro Tamaki, leader of the Democratic Party for the People, holds a press conference in Tokyo on Oct. 14, 2025. (Kyodo/-)
T
he head of a major Japanese opposition party on Tuesday called on other opposition forces to unite on key policies to pave the way for a change in government, amid growing uncertainty over whether the ruling party can remain in power.
Yuichiro Tamaki, leader of the Democratic Party for the People, also said he may meet with Yoshihiko Noda, chief of the largest opposition party, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, as the CDPJ explores cooperation among opposition forces to choose the next prime minister in parliament.
"It will be essential for us to achieve consensus on basic policies," Tamaki, whose party has gained strength in recent years and now is the second-largest opposition force in the House of Councillors, told a press conference.
Citing the CDPJ's opposition to legislation allowing collective self-defense as a major policy difference, Tamaki urged the left-leaning party to "shift to more realistic policies on national security" as well as energy issues including nuclear power plants. The CDPJ opposes building new nuclear plants.
Sanae Takaichi, who won the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's Oct. 4 presidential election, is facing uncertainty over her prospects for taking power after the LDP's junior partner Komeito announced Friday its departure from the minority ruling coalition with the LDP, ending a 26-year partnership.
An extraordinary parliamentary session is expected to be held later this month to elect the successor to outgoing Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, Takaichi's predecessor as LDP head. The LDP is the largest force in both the more powerful House of Representatives and the upper chamber.
Before the Komeito ended the coalition, Takaichi was seen as set to become Japan's first female prime minister. She could lose the parliamentary vote without Komeito's cooperation, and moreover, if the CDPJ, the DPP and the Japan Innovation Party, the second-biggest opposition party in the lower house, field a joint candidate.
Noda, a former prime minister, has said that Tamaki could be the unified opposition candidate for Japan's leader, and is pursuing a meeting among the three major opposition forces' chiefs.
JIP head Hirofumi Yoshimura has also expressed his readiness to discuss a three-way collaboration.
