Feb 24 β€’ 22:30 UTC πŸ‡―πŸ‡΅ Japan Asahi Shimbun (JP)

The Alliance, National, and Constitutional Democratic Parties to Suspend Meetings Amid Center-Right Defeat in Shizuoka

The Alliance, National, and Constitutional Democratic parties have decided to suspend their joint meetings following a significant defeat in Shizuoka elections, revealing cracks in opposition cooperation.

The Alliance of Shizuoka, National Democratic Party, and Constitutional Democratic Party held their first post-election meeting in Shizuoka City on the 24th. In light of the significant defeat experienced by the Center-Right Reform Alliance, it was decided to suspend this regularly held meeting for the time being. The previous cooperative framework, which included candidate allocation in single-member districts, is now uncertain as tensions among the opposition grow more apparent after the recent election outcomes. During the meeting, representatives summarized the election results, with Shizuoka Alliance Chairman Masanori Kakuyama noting that the timing of the Center-Right's establishment just before the election may have hindered their vote performance, as their name, philosophy, and policies were not sufficiently communicated to the public. Constitutional Democratic Party’s Executive Secretary Mikiko Kawashima expressed her confusion over the unexpected results, emphasizing that the election was not well understood by younger voters and the general public, which may have contributed to the poor turnout. Looking to the future, Chairman Tanaka of the National Democratic Party pointed out that numerous uncertainties remain regarding the Center-Right's organizational strategy at the prefectural level. He suggested that monthly meetings, as conducted previously, would be difficult to continue under these conditions, leading to a temporary suspension of the meetings until at least May.

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