The unraveling of the 26-year coalition between Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito represents more than a routine political realignment. It exposes the fundamental weakness plaguing Japanese democracy: It has an opposition ecosystem that prioritizes blocking conservative leadership over advancing coherent policy alternatives.
As Sanae Takaichi positions herself for the prime ministership, the emerging opposition coalition threatens to return the country to the revolving-door leadership that squandered the nation’s potential throughout the “lost decades” characterized by deflation and low growth since the early 1990s.
Meanwhile, Japan has struggled to translate its economic weight into strategic influence. Komeito’s departure from the ruling coalition illuminates why. For over a quarter-century, this Buddhist-affiliated party acted less as a governing partner than as an institutional brake on decisive policymaking.
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