Komeito Not to Vote for Opposition PM Candidate: Saito

From Jiji 

October 12 2025

TOKYO – Komeito leader Tetsuo Saito said Sunday that his party will not vote for an opposition candidate for prime minister fielded by other parties in the upcoming parliamentary election.
   “It’s my personal opinion, but I cannot think of writing the name of such an opposition member,” Saito said in a television program of public broadcaster NHK, or Japan Broadcasting Corp.
   Komeito on Friday ditched its 26-year-old coalition with the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, which had just elected new President Sanae Takaichi. The Diet will convene for an extraordinary session as early as Oct. 20 to pick the successor to outgoing Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.
   In the Diet election, Komeito plans to vote for Saito in the first round. Asked about a potential runoff, Saito said, “We’ll make a decision after careful discussions within the party based on the political situation at that time.”
   The LDP has 196 seats in the House of Representatives, the all-important lower chamber, and Komeito 24 seats.   Meanwhile, a total of 210 seats are held by the three major opposition forces of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Innovation Party) and the Democratic Party for the People. If the three put up a unified candidate, they can defeat Takaichi.