Most Local CDP Members Cautious on 3-Way Integration

Tokyo, Aug. 21 (Jiji Press)--Most local members of the opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan are cautious about a proposed integration of the party and two other opposition parties, the Centrist Reform Alliance and Komeito, ahead of a series of local elections scheduled for spring 2027.

On Thursday, the CDP largely finished meetings with local party members for the exchange of opinions on the three-way integration.

With the deadline for concluding the integration talks among the three parties effectively set at the end of this month, the leadership team of the CDP aims to form a consensus on the matter within the party next week.

Senior CDP official Masayo Tanabu attended a local gathering held in Sapporo, the capital of the northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido, on Thursday.

At the meeting, an executive of the CDP's Hokkaido chapter quoted some local party members as saying: "We have decided to fight next year's unified local elections under the framework of the CDP. So we want (the leadership team) to ensure that moves by the party will not negatively affect (our campaign activities)."

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]