Japan’s CDPJ, Komeito to Officially Launch New Party; Centrist Reform Alliance to Be Headed by CDPJ, Komeito Leaders

The Yomiuri Shimbun

18:32 JST, January 22, 2026

The main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and Komeito will officially launch a new party, the Centrist Reform Alliance, on Thursday during a convention held in the Diet Building in Tokyo.

The new party intends to win votes from those critical of the administration in the upcoming House of Representatives election. Official campaigning is scheduled to start on Tuesday, with voting and ballot counting on Feb. 8.

In a meeting of its Central Secretariat on Thursday, Komeito Chief Representative Tetsuo Saito said, “To create a new political flow, we will join the new party.” He had reported that 28 party members, including lawmakers, would join the CRA.

From the CDPJ, 144 lower house members, as well as newcomers and others, will join the new party.

At the convention, the CRA will announce its leadership, adopting a joint representation system from both parties. CDPJ President Yoshihiko Noda and Komeito Chief Representative Saito will become CRA coleaders, with CDPJ Secretary General Jun Azumi and Komeito Acting Secretary General Hiromasa Nakano as CRA secretaries general.

The CRA also will announce its pledges for the lower house election at the convention, including the reduction of the consumption tax rate on food items to zero, a tax reduction on student loans and the abolition of the “¥1.3 million cliff.” The cliff refers to the ¥1.3 million threshold above which earners have to begin paying social insurance premiums, leading to a drop in take-home pay.