New Komeito, a member of the three-way ruling bloc, appears to be unhappy at the prospect of seeing the New Conservative Party, the smallest coalition member, swallowed up on Monday by the biggest, the Liberal Democratic Party.

Analysts say New Komeito fears it may have to abandon its comfortable position within the alliance and that its ties with the lay Buddhist group Soka Gakkai could face greater scrutiny.

New Komeito leader Takenori Kanzaki has said, "To be honest, a three-party alliance is desirable for us." Meanwhile, Chikara Sakaguchi, a New Komeito lawmaker who serves as health minister, said it is "regrettable" to see such a merger.

New Komeito's negative stance may sound strange to the public, given that the absence of the NCP will heighten its prominence within the coalition. The party, however, fears it will bear the brunt of a full attack by the opposition camp in Diet debates and in July's Upper House election.

With the NCP as the third coalition member, New Komeito has been big enough to ensure it is not ignored -- but not big enough to be directly attacked by the opposition camp.

New Komeito has 34 seats in the 480-seat House of Representatives, while the LDP, headed by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, has a borderline majority.

The LDP has said that New Komeito is indispensable to securing a working majority.

The difference between being one of the LDP's partners in a three-party bloc and being the LDP's only coalition partner is a substantial one for New Komeito, one LDP heavyweight indicated.

Naoto Kan, who heads the Democratic Party of Japan, welcomed the NCP's absorption, stating that problems with the LDP-led coalition would be more visible to the public without the NCP.

Kan was questioning the proximity between the LDP and the Soka Gakkai-backed New Komeito.

The envisaged simplification of the coalition may impress on the public more clearly that the LDP is trying to maintain ties with a party backed by a particular religious group, a concern of both the LDP and New Komeito.

New Komeito's struggle for power often sparks discord over a sensitive issue -- the Constitution's separation of religion and the state.

Exposure of the close ties between the LDP and New Komeito may encourage some LDP supporters to abandon the party in next year's Upper House election.

New Komeito has in the past been in the opposition camp and a foe of the LDP.

It is widely believed that some LDP lawmakers and their supporters are still unhappy about the LDP's alliance with New Komeito, forged in 1999.

Negative sentiments toward New Komeito until now have been muted due to the NCP's presence. The NCP, most of whose lawmakers once belonged to the LDP, acted as a buffer diverting or absorbing such dissatisfaction.

But New Komeito now fears anti-Komeito sentiment among longtime LDP supporters may grow in the near future -- a scenario that could steer the ruling bloc toward a loss in the Upper House election, the analysts say.

The LDP may also lose votes among those who generally have no party affiliation but supported the LDP in Sunday's election if the LDP appears too close to Soka Gakkai, an LDP lawmaker noted.

New Komeito also seems worried over whether the LDP will lend it its full support as a coalition ally in the Upper House election.

In Sunday's poll, NCP leader Hiroshi Kumagai lost his re-election bid, defeated by an independent whom some LDP supporters backed.

New Komeito Secretary General Tetsuzo Fuyushiba has questioned the LDP's commitment to helping its partners in future elections.