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July 03, 2026
 

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KOMEITO

Three major opposition parties are hoping to finalize a three-way merger by this fall.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 2, 2026
Opposition parties CRA, CDP and Komeito discuss merger
The three parties agreed that they should establish a new political structure ahead of the fall session of parliament.
Masayo Tanabu, secretary-general of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and a senior Upper House lawmaker, speaks during an interview with The Japan Times in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jul 1, 2026
Japan¡¯s opposition faces a make-or-break choice over wider integration
The Centrist Reform Alliance has yet to fully convince the public of its significance, said senior opposition lawmaker Masayo Tanabu.
Debate on constitutional revision is intensifying in commissions on the Constitution in both chambers of the Diet, Japan's parliament, during the ongoing special session.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jun 24, 2026
Constitutional debates intensify in Japan parliament over emergency clause
Lower House lawmakers have been debating an emergency clause that would allow legislators¡¯ terms to be extended in the event of a disaster or crisis.
Centrist Reform Alliance leader Junya Ogawa during a news conference in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN
Jun 13, 2026
Komeito aims to merge with CRA before next parliamentary session
Informed sources say the party plans to declare its plan to join the CRA in July and formally approve the move at a party convention by September.
Junya Ogawa, leader of the Centrist Reform Alliance, attends a news conference on Friday in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Politics
May 31, 2026
Three Japanese opposition parties explore new alliance
With the current Diet session slated to end July 17, the three parties hope to confirm such plans by mid-July, according to sources.
Former co-leader of the Centrist Reform Alliance Yoshihiko Noda speaks during an interview at the Diet building in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN
Apr 22, 2026
Some in LDP were positive about formation of CRA, says Noda
The former CRA co-leader says several moderate conservative members of the LDP were approached for cooperation to realize a broad political realignment.
Centrist Reform Alliance leader Junya Ogawa speaks during a news conference in the parliamentary building on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Apr 15, 2026
Where will the Centrist Reform Alliance¡¯s soul-searching take it?
The party¡¯s internal study has confirmed what many political observers had already concluded ¡ª the attempt to fuse the CDP and Komeito faced structural flaws from the start.
Opposition parties are demanding Cabinet approval for exports of highly lethal weapons and for first-time projects.
JAPAN
Apr 13, 2026
Opposition calls for prior notification to parliament over arms exports
The opposition parties also demand Cabinet approval for exports of highly lethal weapons and for first-time projects.
Centrist Reform Alliance leader Junya Ogawa speaks during an interview at the Diet building on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 3, 2026
CRA leader Ogawa calls for full merger with CDP and Komeito
¡°Prolonged stagnation ... could sink them together,¡± Junya Ogawa said, referring to the three Japanese opposition parties.
Members of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan attend its regular party convention on Sunday in Tokyo.
JAPAN
Mar 30, 2026
CDP stops short of specifying when to merge into CRA
A draft of the CDP¡¯s campaign policy had included a plan to make the decision in June 2027, after unified local elections earlier that year.
Komeito leader Toshiko Takeya shake hands with Centrist Reform Alliance leader Junya Ogawa (right) and Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan chief Shunichi Mizuoka during a Komeito party convention in Tokyo on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 15, 2026
Komeito chief open to full integration with Centrist Reform Alliance
The CRA currently comprises only lawmakers of the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of parliament.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi discusses tax reduction at a national council in Tokyo on Feb. 26.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 10, 2026
CRA might join national council on consumption tax cut after all
Like the Democratic Party for the People, the party fears the political cost of not taking part in talks over the proposed consumption tax cut for food items.
Junya Ogawa, who heads the Centrist Reform Alliance, speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 19, 2026
CRA not a brake for LDP-JIP, but ¡®an entirely separate vehicle¡¯
Newly elected chief Junya Ogawa continues to tout the main opposition party as an alternative to the ruling coalition despite its recent setback at the ballot box.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi attends a Liberal Democratic Party executive meeting at the party's headquarters in Tokyo on Tuesday.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 18, 2026
Time for Takaichi to tackle Japan¡¯s political taboos
How Takaichi spends her political capital will define her prime ministership, and she may very well be in a position to finally tackle some unresolved voting issues.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in Tokyo on Feb. 9
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 16, 2026
LDP retains high approval rating post election, Nikkei poll shows
While the Liberal Democratic Party¡¯s high approval ratings continued after its Feb. 8 election win, support for the Democratic Party for the People and Sanseito stayed sluggish.
Newly elected Centrist Reform Alliance leader Junya Ogawa speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 13, 2026
Junya Ogawa elected leader of Centrist Reform Alliance
The former CDP lawmaker pledged to strengthen the CRA¡¯s internal structure as the party reels from its election defeat.
Nobuyasu Nikai, the Liberal Democratic Party's candidate for the October 2024 Lower House election, shakes hands with supporters in Tanabe, Wakayama Prefecture.
JAPAN / Politics / First person
Feb 13, 2026
Looking at politics from a different perspective
Three campaigns in 15 months showed how fragile support can be ¡ª and how national power begins far from Tokyo.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi addresses a news conference at her ruling party's headquarters in Tokyo on Monday, a day after the Liberal Democratic Party won a landslide victory in the Lower House election.
EDITORIALS
Feb 13, 2026
After another historic victory, Takaichi takes command
Not only is she the country¡¯s first female prime minister and a symbol of a new Japan, her career also marks a break from traditional politics.
Junya Ogawa (left) and Takeshi Shina, Lower House lawmakers for the Centrist Reform Alliance, filed their candidacies Thursday for Friday's party leadership election.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 12, 2026
Ex-CDP¡¯s Takeshi Shina and Junya Ogawa enter race to lead CRA
A vote to elect the new opposition party¡¯s leaders will be held at a general meeting of its lawmakers on Friday, after its former co-leaders stepped down following election losses.
Centrist Reform Alliance co-leader Yoshihiko Noda (right) speaks at the party's plenary assembly in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 11, 2026
CRA soul-searching begins with vote to elect new leader
After its disastrous defeat on Sunday, the fledgling Centrist Reform Alliance is hoping a new face at the top will help it find its bearings.
Japan triples departure tax in push to combat overtourism
Tourists in Yanaka Ginza, Tokyo, on Wednesday. Japan tripled its International Tourist Tax (departure tax) to ?3,000 from ?1,000 on Wednesday for all travelers leaving Japan, regardless of nationality.
¡®My dream is broken¡¯: Japan visa rules push out foreign residents
A man orders from a kebab shop in the Okubo district in Tokyo.
More facilities in Japan placing sanitary bins in men¡¯s restrooms
A sanitary bin with an awareness sticker placed in a men's restroom in the Nagasaki Municipal Government building
Inside Japan¡¯s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
Why is the yen so weak and what can Japan do about it?
Japan spent ?11.7 trillion ($73 billion) between late April and late May to prop up the weak yen.
Six of the best: rikishi of note in each sumo division
Kazuma (right) faces off against future <i>yokozuna</i> Onosato during the All Japan Amateur Sumo Championships at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo in December 2020.
Some startups see opportunity in an aging Japan
Yasmin Baba, CTO of Amilis, wins the Grand Prize at the Pitch2Tokyo Grand Final on Feb. 19.
Japan¡¯s fertility system offers few safe paths for same-sex couples
A Tokyo Pride parade participant holds a sign that says "we want to be a married couple, not a couple."
Life inside Japan¡¯s largest prison for women
Western-style rooms spanning the size of four tatami mats with hardwood floors, a toilet and soft mattresses on bed frames are designated for foreign nationals and those with health conditions at Tochigi Prison.
Inside Japan¡¯s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.

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