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TOKYO: Japan's top opposition parties were set to hold high-stakes discussions on Tuesday (Oct 14), aiming to find a unified candidate for prime minister and oust the ruling party from power.
The talks come after the ruling coalition collapsed last week, putting in peril Sanae Takaichi's bid to become the country's first woman premier.
Japan was in political limbo over whether the opposition bloc will unite after junior partner Komeito quit its 26-year alliance with the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).
A union would give the opposition group enough votes to name a prime minister and block Takaichi, who was elected as LDP president just over a week ago but needs lawmakers' approval to become premier.
Yuichiro Tamaki, president of the Democratic Party for the People (DPP) - the third-largest opposition group in the lower house - said the secretaries general of three main opposition parties will meet Tuesday evening to explore a possible union.
However, he cautioned that their policies diverge significantly in crucial areas, including national defence and the use of nuclear energy.
"If we were to join together in a coalition government, alignment on fundamental policies would be essential," he told a press conference.
"If there's no alignment, the administration will be volatile," said Tamaki, who said last week he would be willing to stand as prime minister.
DPP's secretary general was also expected to meet with his counterpart from the LDP and its former partner Komeito.
The LDP named Takaichi as its new leader earlier this month, seemingly putting her on track to rise to the premiership.
Although she could still win if opposition parties fail to agree on an alternative candidate, Komeito's exit from the coalition due to a slush fund scandal within the LDP has sunk Japan into a new political crisis.
The LDP still occupies over 40 per cent of the powerful 465-seat lower house but lacks the majority it needs to name a prime minister on its own.
The largest opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDP) has said it was willing to name Tamaki or the leader of another opposition party as the premier in order to kick the LDP out of power.
Yoshihiko Noda, head of the CDP, has said that "this is a once-in-a-decade chance for a change of government".
