Is Japan’s new opposition alliance already ‘dead in the water’?

Japan’s fledgling opposition alliance is scrambling to regroup after a bruising election defeat that has left its future in doubt, raising broader questions about whether the country can sustain a credible parliamentary counterweight to the long-dominant Liberal Democratic Party.

The Centrist Reform Alliance (CRA) is set to elect a new leader on Friday, just days after voters delivered a resounding blow in Sunday’s House of Representatives poll, prompting the resignation of its joint chairs.

Some political insiders argue that, given time, the CRA – a merger between the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, previously the largest opposition force, and Komeito, a religion-backed party that until recently governed alongside the LDP – could still mature into a coherent bloc capable of challenging the ruling party.

But others already see it as a doomed experiment.

Supporters of the Centrist Reform Alliance listen to a speech at a campaign rally on Saturday, the eve of Japan’s election. Photo: AP

Internal discussions began on Wednesday about who was best placed to lead the alliance after co-chairs Yoshihiko Noda and Tetsuo Saito stepped down on Monday as the scale of the defeat became apparent.