Japan Opposition Party CDPJ Aims to Join Forces With Others; Some Reluctant Over Differences in Basic Policies

The Yomiuri Shimbun

20:00 JST, October 31, 2024

Yoshihiko Noda, leader of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, has called on other parties to join forces around the principle of “realizing political reforms.”

Noda aims to further hem in the ruling coalition, which lost its majority in the recent House of Representatives election, believing there is still deep-rooted public distrust over the issue of politics and money.

However, the prospect of their cooperation has yet to become a reality, as the Japan Innovation Party and the Democratic Party for the People — both of which prioritize agreeing on basic policies — have not changed their cautious stance on joining forces with the CDPJ.

When Noda met with JIP leader Nobuyuki Baba in the Diet Building on Wednesday, Noda asked for the JIP’s support in the vote to elect the prime minister at the next special Diet session.

After the meeting, Noda talked to reporters about cooperation with other parties, saying, “Some have pointed out there are differences in basic policies.”

With the special Diet session coming up soon on Nov. 11, Noda stressed: “It will be difficult to hammer out specific details [of policies], so we’ll find common ground instead. The basic premise is ‘genuine political reform.’”

Noda’s comment indicated his desire to unite non-ruling party forces under the slogan of political reform.

In response, Baba clarified his party’s position to reporters after the meeting, saying, “We can’t write ‘Noda’ [for prime minister in the Diet vote] unless there is an agreement on basic policies.”

“Meaningless concessions would make the public wonder what on earth we’re doing,” Baba said.

His remarks stemmed from concern that if the JIP were to easily enter into cooperation with the CDPJ, “supporters would conclude that there had been a shift in the party’s axis, and they would leave,” a JIP senior member said.

Noda also met Wednesday with Japanese Communist Party Chairperson Tomoko Tamura, and called for cooperation. The JCP plans to consider collaboration in the Diet vote to pick the prime minister and on other issues, if political reform is promoted.

The CDPJ has also called on the DPFP to hold a meeting of party leaders.

“If the meeting is to discuss basic policies, I’d like to talk with the leader,” DPFP leader Yuichiro Tamaki told reporters on Wednesday.

However, the DPFP also is trying to find a way to cooperate with the ruling parties on policies. Tamaki and Noda did not meet Wednesday. Tamaki said some within the DPFP feel that communication among party leaders is not as good as when Kenta Izumi was the leader of the CDPJ.

Should the CDPJ fail to receive the cooperation of the JIP and the DPFP to win votes for the election of the prime minister in the Diet, this could cast a shadow over the CDPJ’s hopes of uniting non-ruling party forces in the future.

“If the CDPJ fails to unite the opposition parties, the party’s responsibility as the largest opposition party should be seriously questioned,” a DPFP executive member said.