Why Japan’s centrist opposition parties can’t get along with one another

(From left) Komeito leader Toshiko Takeya, Centrist Reform Alliance leader Junya Ogawa, and Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan leader Shunichi Mizuoka formally announced on Friday that the merger between their parties has been postponed. | JIJI

Aug 28, 2026

By now, the Centrist Reform Alliance (CRA) was supposed to have merged with the remaining elements of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDP) and Komeito. But at a meeting on Friday, the head of the CDP told his counterparts in the CRA and Komeito that his party will not proceed with the merger.

At a time when Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s approval ratings are trending downward, Japan’s main opposition parties have failed to coalesce and mount a stronger challenge to the ruling coalition. Instead, the three entities have drifted further apart, revealing what may well be insurmountable obstacles.

The outcome of Friday’s meeting was not a surprise, as CDP leader Shunichi Mizuoka has long signaled his reluctance to move forward with the merger. In April, he said he had “no intent to hurry” the process, and last week he told reporters that forming a unified parliamentary group would be an option if the merger failed to materialize.

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