Komeito to build new centrist bloc with likeminded lawmakers under new framework
September 10 , 2026
On Sep. 9, Komeito Secretary General Makoto Nishida told reporters that his party aims to expand the politically moderate bloc in the Diet that is open to all legislators who share similar political values and policy agendas.
Under the framework, all the CRA legislators—save one, in a caretaker role—will leave the party, with the former Komeito members returning to their previous party, while those originally belonging to the CDP will go on establish a new political party. Both groups reaffirmed their commitment to the Alliance’s founding principles, ranging from the advancement of peace and human dignity, to realizing responsible governance as well as balanced reforms for national stability and progress. They will continue to cooperate on policy and related matters under the banner of a new parliamentary caucus, making it the largest political opposition to the ruling coalition led by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.
Meanwhile, Komeito will explore ways to forge solidarity among lawmakers who share the basic political values and policy agendas without the constraints imposed by the demands of creating a new political party. Komeito also made clear that it does not intend to simply reconstitute its past self after absorbing its Komeito-affiliated CRA members. Instead, it intends to accelerate internal reforms to become even more open and responsive to the voices of the general public, to emerge as an axis around which a politically moderate movement may further coalesce and gain greater parliamentary traction.
When the House of Representatives members of the CDP and Komeito joined forces to launch the CRA in January 2026, they did so under the premise that their House of Councillors (since renamed the “Senate”) members would also later join the Alliance. In a general convention of both houses, the CDP endorsed the merger, agreeing to the CRA’s basic policies and founding principles as well. It was, in short, a formal agreement between the CDP and Komeito that the former abruptly disavowed.
Earlier this month, Komeito Chief Representative Toshiko Takeya explained that the CDP’s aboutface was the primary cause for her party not to finalize the merger. She also cited concerns of a large-scale defection of CDP-affiliated Alliance members should Komeito’s Upper House members join the CRA, thereby skewing the political character of the Alliance towards Komeito. And that, she said, would undermine the purpose of creating a broad, policy-based parliamentary counterforce with sufficient mass to unseat the current right-leaning coalition government.
Komeito remains unequivocally committed to its politically centrist agenda. It will not enter into a parliamentary causus with the CDP in the Japanese Senate. Nor will it reevaluate its opposition to joining the coalition government led by the Liberal Democratic Party.
