One year after split with LDP, Komeito seeks fresh direction with new leader

Newly elected Komeito chief Mitsunari Okamoto speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Oct. 8. | JIJI

Oct 26, 2026

After a chaotic year as an opposition party, Komeito is seeking to turn itself around under a new leader who talks about becoming the axis for political realignment and cooperating with all parties on a policy, not an ideological, basis.

Mitsunari Okamoto, a 61-year-old former Goldman Sachs executive who was elected on Oct. 3 as Komeito’s new leader, said that despite differences between the two parties, he’s open to working with the administration of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and her Liberal Democratic Party where possible.

“If our goal becomes to either work with the LDP or pick a fight with it, I don’t think Komeito has a future. I want to find points of intersection with others, and there are areas where we will intersect with the LDP and areas where we won’t,” Okamoto said during an Oct. 16 interview.

In a time of both misinformation and too much information,
quality journalism is more crucial than ever.
By subscribing, you can help us get the story right.