TOKYO: Japan’s top three opposition leaders met on Wednesday to seek a unified candidate for prime minister in their bid to oust the ruling party from power.
Yuichiro Tamaki, head of the third-largest Democratic Party for the People, reported that policy differences remained between the opposition groups.
“I felt there are gaps,“ Tamaki told a news conference after the Tokyo meeting.
He noted that differences existed on key issues such as defence and the use of nuclear energy.
The attempted opposition realignment has so far prevented Sanae Takaichi from becoming Japan’s first woman prime minister.
Japan fell into political limbo last week after the Komeito party left the ruling coalition after 26 years.
The breakup means that the top three opposition parties together now have more legislative votes than the Liberal Democratic Party.
The LDP has governed almost non-stop since 1955 but now needs to work with others to build a parliamentary majority.
Takaichi was elected as the new LDP president this month after her predecessor Shigeru Ishiba quit.
She needs the approval of lawmakers to become premier following the LDP losing its majority in both houses of parliament.
The next legislative session is slated for Tuesday when the LDP wants to hold a vote to replace Ishiba as prime minister.
Opposition parties are pushing to delay that vote according to Japanese media reports.
Yoshihiko Noda, head of the largest opposition group, has called this “a once-in-a-decade chance for a change of government”.
Takaichi has extended an olive branch to Tamaki and other opposition groups in a bid to find new partners.
She told reporters she had asked Tamaki on Wednesday for his help to become the next prime minister.
“Whether that’s diplomacy, security, energy and economy, I believe we share many similarities,“ she said after meeting Tamaki.
She added that she wanted to reaffirm her wish to work together in various arenas. – AFP
