Japan Opposition Party Leader Noda Takes Increasingly Confrontational Stance Against Takaichi Cabinet

The Yomiuri Shimbun

15:18 JST, January 7, 2026

Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan leader Yoshihiko Noda is increasingly taking a confrontational stance toward the Cabinet of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. This move aims to increase the CDPJ’s presence as the largest opposition party amid sluggish growth in its support.

The CDPJ is considering submitting a no-confidence motion against the Cabinet during the ordinary Diet session set to be convened on Jan. 23, but it remains unclear whether opposition parties will join forces.

Speaking in Fukui on Tuesday, Noda said he was eyeing submitting a no-confidence motion during the ordinary Diet session. A mid-ranking CDPJ member said Noda made the remarks in an aim to bolster the party’s standing as the party’s support has remained in the single digits in Yomiuri Shimbun opinion polls.

During last year’s ordinary Diet session, the CDPJ refrained from submitting a no-confidence motion against the Cabinet of then Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba when the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner Komeito held a minority in the House of Representatives. If the opposition parties had united, the motion might have passed then.

Noda also did not submit the motion against the Takaichi Cabinet during the extraordinary Diet session last autumn, saying it was too early to do so. This invited criticism within his party, with some questioning whether it even had any intention of taking power.

Since the beginning of the year, Noda has been intensifying his criticism of the government. He has stated that the fiscal 2026 budget is too large in scale and is expected to criticize wasteful spending during Diet deliberations while presenting an alternative proposal.

Noda is also said to be determined to urge the ruling coalition to take responsibility for the issue of payments by the campaign team of Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi during the October 2024 lower house election.

However, since the ruling parties — the LDP and the Japan Innovation Party — currently enjoy a majority in the lower house, the CDPJ alone will not be able to effectively oppose them. The CDPJ hopes to partner with Komeito, but Komeito leader Tetsuo Saito maintains that his party will show a “fair and just attitude in dealing with Diet affairs.”

The Democratic Party for the People, which is supported by the Japanese Trade Union Confederation (Rengo), like the CDPJ, has strengthened its ties with the Takaichi administration by pledging cooperation on the budget bill, so there are no signs of the opposition parties uniting.

The CDPJ is expected to participate in a national council comprising ruling and opposition party lawmakers to discuss social security system reform. The aim is to discuss the design of a tax credit with cash payments system that would combine direct cash payments and income tax cuts, which the party advocates. Therefore, concerns are being raised within the CDPJ that the party may end up being “co-opted by the government and ruling coalition after all.”