Japan’s DPFP to Keep Distance from LDP, New Party Ahead of Lower House Election

The Yomiuri Shimbun

21:00 JST, January 19, 2026

The Democratic Party for the People is keeping its distance from both the Liberal Democratic Party and the newly formed Centrist Reform Alliance. The DPFP seems to be aiming to gain support by pursuing an independent course in the upcoming House of Representatives election.

“Both the ruling parties and the other opposition parties are sidelining the lives of the people with the election,” said DPFP Secretary General Kazuya Shinba during an NHK TV program on Sunday. He criticized moves being made by the LDP and the Centrist Reform Alliance – formed by the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and Komeito – which is predicted to be the largest opposition party.

The DPFP agreed with the LDP last month to raise the so-called annual income barrier, the income threshold above which tax is levied. At the time, the two parties also confirmed that the bill for the fiscal 2026 budget would be passed with all haste within the current fiscal year, which ends March 31.

Because the lower house is set to be dissolved at the beginning of the upcoming ordinary Diet session, the passage of the budget bill within the agree upon time frame will likely be difficult.

DPFP leader Yuichiro Tamaki thus voiced objections, saying, “Our relationship of trust will be shaken.” He also suggested that the decision to cooperate with the LDP regarding the budget bill will be reviewed, saying, “We will be unable to promise to vote for the bill.”

CDPJ Secretary General Jun Azumi on Thursday reportedly made a phone call to Shinba to ask the DPFP to join the Centrist Reform Alliance, and Shinba immediately refused.

In the 2017 lower house election, Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike established Kibo no To (the Party of Hope), but the LDP achieved a landslide victory. A senior DPFP member said the Centrist Reform Alliance “is like Kibo no To, but without Ms. Koike. It is no threat to us.”

The DPFP aims to field 100 candidates in the upcoming election and holds a position of not avoiding head-on fights with the LDP or the Centrist Reform Alliance.

Among other opposition parties, moves aiming for cooperation with the Centrist Reform Alliance have not spread. The Japanese Communist Party and Reiwa Shinsengumi are keeping their distance from the new party.

Some CDPJ members voiced discontent over the situation. One said, “If opposition parties cannot get united, it will benefit the LDP.”

Sanseito, which achieved a considerable gain in seats in last year’s House of Councillors election, aims to field about 160 candidates to raise its presence in the lower house.

Sanseito leader Sohei Kamiya has mentioned that the party may not field candidates in constituencies where those of other parties with similar policies to it will run. Some LDP members voiced an expectation that Sanseito will effectively cooperate on candidates.

“We want to protect Japan. I hope that Prime Minister [Sanae] Takaichi does, too,” Kamiya said during a street speech in Saitama on Saturday.