Over 160 Lawmakers To Join New Japanese Opposition Party Ahead Of Election

TOKYO, Jan 22 (Bernama-Kyodo) --  More than 160 lawmakers are expected to join Japan's new "centrist" opposition party, as it held a convention on Thursday to mark its official launch ahead of a snap House of Representatives election next month.

According to Kyodo News, the Centrist Reform Alliance, formed following a deal last week between the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and the Komeito party, aims to eventually field over 200 candidates, including those picked by open recruitment, according to senior members of the two parties.

Campaign pledges for the Feb 8 lower chamber election will be revealed after the convention, they said, with the new united front seeking to defeat the conservative ruling bloc led by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's Liberal Democratic Party, Komeito's former longtime ally.

Among the expected campaign pledges are permanently abolishing the eight per cent consumption tax on food products from this fall, lowering social insurance premiums, allowing married couples to use separate surnames and providing rent subsidies.

As of Thursday, 144 of the CDPJ's 148 lower house members, and 21 of Komeito's 24 are expected to participate in the alliance, along with others, including independents.

As a temporary measure, CDPJ and Komeito members manage the new party and issues related to the upcoming election. CDPJ head Yoshihiko Noda and Komeito chief Tetsuo Saito serve as co-leaders.

Takaichi, who assumed office in October, announced on Monday that she will dissolve the lower chamber on Friday, the opening day of this year's ordinary Diet session, aiming to capitalise on her Cabinet's high approval ratings.

The ruling coalition, formed by the LDP and the Japan Innovation Party in October, holds a slim majority in the powerful lower house and remains a minority in the House of Councillors.

Noda and Saito have pledged to bring together centrist forces to provide an alternative in Japan's "right-leaning" political landscape, with Takaichi's hawkish views on security and the recent rise of populist opposition forces in mind.

-- BERNAMA-KYODO