The Centrist Reform Alliance (CRA) will cease its activities, its leader Junya Ogawa announced at a press conference, ending eight months of attempts to create an effective political counterbalance to S. Takaichi’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).
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“Once we pay off the unpaid bills, we will disband the party,” he said.
The centrist party was hastily founded in January, attempting to unite two large opposition groups and create a stronger and more unified movement against S. Takaichi.
These groups were “Komeito” – a former LDP coalition partner – and the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan.
However, the new party suffered a crushing defeat in the general election held in February – winning only 49 seats out of 465 in the lower house of parliament and losing more than 100 seats sought for re-election by its members.
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The LDP gained more than 100 additional seats and won a total of 316 mandates.
It is expected that some centrist members will return to their old parties or form new ones.
Despite the party’s collapse, its members are expected to form a faction in the lower house to continue pursuing the creation of a viable alternative to the LDP, said J. Ogawa.
The pacifist “Komeito,” supported by a lay Buddhist organization, ended its 26-year coalition with the LDP last October, stating that its partner refused to tighten political donation rules after a fundraising scandal.
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