Democratic Reform Association Established

A new opposition party, named the Democratic Reform Association (DRA), was established on September 17th by lawmakers who left the Centrist Reform Alliance (CRA), which was separated between former Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDPJ) and former Komeito. While the DRA is expected to integrate lawmakers of former CDPJ, it is unclear whether they can completely include them. 

After the CRA, with 49 Lower House members, decided to dissolve itself, 28 ex-Komeito members left the party and returned to Komeito which had been remaining in the Upper House. Then 20 ex-CDPJ members left the party and only one ex-CDPJ member stayed in the CRA to keep the status of a party. The CRA remains as a party with one lawmaker to receive political fund from the government.

 

The DRA was registered as a party with five members: Jun-ya Ogawa, Takeshi Shina, Kazuhiko Shigetoku, Akira Nagatsuma and Takayuki Ochiai. The leader of DRA is Ogawa and the secretary general is Shina. Those two had been the leader and secretary general of the CRA. The DRA succeeded the leadership of former CRA. Ogawa encourages ex-CDPJ lawmakers who left the CRA to join the DRA.

 

The DRA also succeeded main policies of the CRA. When it was established in January, the CRA upheld five pillars as their platform. They were sustainable economic growth for people’s happiness, building new social security model for security of working age, inclusive society with choices and opportunities, realistic diplomacy and security policy with deepened discussion on constitutional amendment, and relentless political reform and election system reform. The DRA wholly succeeded those policies.

 

Although Ogawa expects all the 20 ex-CDPJ lawmakers who left the CRA to join the DRA, some of them are hesitating it. Former leader of the CDPJ, Kenta Izumi, announced that he would not participate in the DRA, being frustrated with the decision that one lawmaker remained in the CRA. The CDPJ has 39 lawmakers in its parliamentary group in the Upper House. However, it is still unclear when and how many of those lawmakers will join the DRA.

 

It is likely that the DRA will be a party with Lower House lawmakers for the time being. The CDPJ will be another party in the Upper House. Komeito will be the biggest opposition party with 49 lawmakers, surpassing the Democratic party for the People with 43. The DRA hopes to establish a new parliamentary group in the Lower House with CRA and Komeito before the next session of the Diet will be convoked in early October, but they do not have a clear vision for it.

 

It is expected that Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is going to pass the bill for consumption tax cut in the next session. However, the opposition parties are so fragmented that they cannot afford to discuss details of the bills in the Diet. Weakness of opposition power further encourages unilateral rule of the leading coalition.

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