Photo/Illutration Komeito leader Tetsuo Saito speaks at a news conference after a meeting with Liberal Democratic Party President Sanae Takaichi on Oct. 10. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

Komeito leader Tetsuo Saito shifted his stance and indicated that the party may support an opposition candidate if the Diet vote to designate the next prime minister goes to a runoff.

Speaking on a satellite television program on Oct. 13, Saito called voting for an opposition candidate “one of the possibilities.”

“Ultimately, we will decide from among all possible options after discussions within the party,” he said.

While prefacing that it was his personal opinion, Saito previously said Komeito’s basic approach would be to either abstain or vote for himself in the event of a runoff, noting that voting for an opposition party leader was “out of the question.”

On Oct. 10, Saito told new Liberal Democratic Party President Sanae Takaichi that Komeito will withdraw from the coalition government, citing the LDP’s resistance to political reforms following its high-profile funding scandal.

The decision will end Komeito’s 26-year partnership with the LDP.

Asked about the prospect of forming a coalition government with the LDP again, Saito said: “If an approach were made to hold coalition talks, we would not reject it. (The Oct. 10 decision) does not mean we will never again be part of a governing coalition.”

Opposition parties are maneuvering ahead of the Diet vote.

Yuichiro Tamaki, leader of the Democratic Party for the People, told reporters in Yamaguchi on Oct. 13 that he is willing to meet with Yoshihiko Noda, head of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan.

His remarks came in response to Noda’s call for talks with leaders of Nippon Ishin (Japan Innovation Party) and the DPP, aimed at unifying behind a single candidate for the prime minister election during an extraordinary Diet session that will convene around Oct. 21.

Tamaki said a meeting of the parties’ secretaries-general will be held as early as Oct. 14 to sort through issues, including themes for talks among the party leaders.

Seeking to unify the opposition behind a single candidate for prime minister, the CDP has named Tamaki as a “leading contender,” without insisting on Noda.

The CDP, Nippon Ishin and the DPP collectively hold 210 seats in the Lower House, more than the LDP’s 196 seats. But they have different stances in key policy issues.

Komeito has 24 seats.

At a news conference in Morioka on Oct. 13, LDP Secretary-General Shunichi Suzuki said electoral cooperation with Komeito will “go back to square one” if the coalition is dissolved.

But he added that the LDP will place importance on maintaining cooperative relationships with Komeito in line with local circumstances.

Suzuki also said the LDP is arranging talks with the DPP.

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