Photo/Illutration Komeito Secretary-General Keiichi Ishii meets with reporters on May 25. (Koichi Ueda)

Junior coalition partner Komeito decided not to cooperate with the ruling Liberal Democratic Party in Tokyo in the next Lower House election, representing what could be the biggest split in the long-running relationship.

At issue is the Tokyo No. 28 district, one of 10 new single-seat districts in urban areas that will be created in a reapportionment move.

Komeito had planned to field a candidate in the No. 28 district, which covers the eastern part of Nerima Ward in the capital, but LDP officials said they already had their own candidate in mind.

At a May 25 meeting with the LDP, Komeito officials said they would not field a candidate in the district. But apparently angered at losing any chance at winning that seat, Komeito officials also said the party would not endorse any LDP candidate in single-seat districts in Tokyo.

“The relationship of trust between Komeito and the LDP in Tokyo has fallen dramatically,” Komeito Secretary -General Keiichi Ishii told reporters after the meeting.

But he added that the decision did not mean Komeito would bolt from the ruling coalition.

Under the electoral cooperation setup between the two parties, Komeito has consistently endorsed LDP candidates running in single-seat districts around Japan.

In turn, the LDP has asked its supporters to vote for Komeito in the proportional representation constituency.

Komeito, however, is apparently intent on winning more single-seat districts, given the gradual decline in votes it has received in the proportional representation constituency.

The party gained about 8.62 million votes in that constituency in the 2004 Upper House election, but the figure fell to about 6.18 million votes in the election last year.

In previous meetings, LDP officials had suggested that Komeito run candidates in other single-seat districts of Tokyo. But Komeito only had eyes for the No. 28 district.

Komeito, whose main support group is Soka Gakkai, the largest lay-Buddhist organization in Japan, is known for its vote-gathering power.

One high-ranking LDP official said Komeito could be counted on for between 10,000 and 20,000 votes per single-seat district.

Those votes are crucial for LDP candidates in tight races.

In the 2021 Lower House election, three LDP candidates in Tokyo won their single-seat districts by fewer than 10,000 votes over the second-place candidate.

But LDP officials felt they could not let Komeito take the initiative in deciding which Tokyo district it could run candidates.

LDP officials point out that their party stands to lose the most in the reapportionment measure that will create the No. 28 district.

The reapportionment will eliminate seats in 10 mainly rural prefectures where the LDP has been dominant.

The new seats will represent areas of Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama and Aichi prefectures. Komeito has already said it would run candidates in new districts in Saitama and Aichi prefectures.

Another factor that is putting pressure on Komeito is the rise of opposition party Nippon Ishin (Japan Innovation Party).

Of the nine Komeito lawmakers who won their seats in single-seat districts in 2021, six represented districts in Osaka and Hyogo prefectures where Komeito was considered invulnerable.

But those prefectures also happen to be strongholds of Nippon Ishin.

Nippon Ishin has refrained from running candidates against Komeito to gain the party’s backing for a plan to merge the Osaka city and prefectural governments and create a metropolis similar to Tokyo.

The plan has twice been rejected by Osaka voters.

However, Nippon Ishin has gained power in the Diet, and it has also changed its stance toward Komeito.

It said it would field candidates in the next Lower House election to run against Komeito incumbents.

Although Komeito officials said their decision concerning elections in Tokyo is final, LDP Secretary-General Toshimitsu Motegi asked Ishii for a meeting on May 30 to further discuss the issue.

Ishii has agreed to that meeting.

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