Japan’s opposition sees ‘gaps’ as they seek united front in PM race

TOKYO - Japan’s top three opposition leaders met on Oct 15 to seek a unified candidate for prime minister in their bid to oust the ruling party from power, only to find there were still “gaps” between them.

The attempted opposition realignment has so far prevented Ms Sanae Takaichi, the

new leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP)

, from becoming Japan’s first woman prime minister.

The opposition leaders met in Tokyo, but Mr Yuichiro Tamaki, head of the third-largest Democratic Party for the People (DPP), said he noticed policy differences remained on issues such as defence and the use of nuclear energy.

“I felt there are gaps,” Mr Tamaki, who has been nominated as a possible opposition candidate for prime minister, told a news conference.

Japan fell into political limbo last week after the Komeito party, the LDP’s junior partner,

left the ruling coalition after 26 years

.

The break-up means that the top three opposition parties together have more legislative votes than the LDP.

The LDP, which has governed almost non-stop since 1955, is still the largest party but needs to work with others to build a majority needed to pass Bills and name the next prime minister.

Ms Takaichi was elected as the new LDP president in October after her predecessor

Shigeru Ishiba quit,

in the wake of the LDP losing its majority in both houses of Parliament, and needs the approval of lawmakers to become premier.

Mr Ishiba remains in office for now, although he is no longer head of the LDP.

The next legislative session is slated for Oct 21, when the LDP wants to have a vote to replace him as premier.

However, opposition parties are pushing to delay the vote, Japanese media reported.

Mr Yoshihiko Noda, head of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, the largest opposition group, said: “This is a once-in-a-decade chance for a change of government.”

Ms Takaichi has extended an olive branch to the DPP’s Mr Tamaki and other opposition groups in a bid to find new partners.

She told reporters she had asked Mr Tamaki on Oct 15 for his help to become the next prime minister, stressing the similarities between their parties.

“Whether that’s diplomacy, security, energy and economy, I believe we share many similarities,” she said after meeting Mr Tamaki.

“I wanted to reaffirm my wish to work together in various arenas.” AFP