Japan’s Buddhist-backed Komeito facing ‘existential crisis’ after bruising election defeat
Observers say its ageing support base and weakened alliance with the ruling LDP have left the faith-linked party in political limbo
The party’s stark assessment was contained in a postmortem report, formally approved on Thursday, that acknowledged the scale of the setback. At a subsequent senior party meeting, Secretary General Makoto Nishida offered his resignation, despite having only taken up the post last September.
Nishida appeared to be taking responsibility for the loss of six seats, which reduced Komeito’s presence in the 248-member chamber to 21. The party’s share of the vote also shrank by 5.37 per cent – a serious blow for a group long seen as the LDP’s reliable coalition ally.
At a press conference in Tokyo on Friday, however, party leader Tetsuo Saito announced he would not accept Nishida’s resignation, saying, “A wealth of experience and outstanding coordination skills are essential to move forward with the many issues that we face.”
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Political analysts agree that Komeito now finds itself increasingly adrift – not just because of its shrinking electoral footprint, but because of its diminished sway within an LDP struggling with its own historic unpopularity and internal divisions.