and
Tetsuo Saito gave a street speech for the
general election (February 7, 2026) The party was announced on 15 January 2026 as a
centrist merger of the
Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDP) and
Komeito, amid reports of an
early election being called in February 2026. This came after Komeito ended its 26-year
coalition with the
Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in October 2025, citing issues like political funding scandals and discomfort with the LDP's shift to the
right under
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. Its establishment was compared to the
New Frontier Party that existed from 1994 to 1997. On 16 January, CDP leader
Yoshihiko Noda and
Komeito leader Tetsuo Saito announced the name of the new party, and subsequently informed the
Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications of its establishment. CDP member
Kazuhiro Haraguchi additionally announced that he would not join the new party, but would instead turn his existing political organization, the , into a political party. On January 24, Haraguchi and
Genzei Nippon leader
Takashi Kawamura announced the formation of a new political party,
Tax Cuts Japan and Yukoku Alliance. On 19 January, the party announced its manifesto. In concessions to the Komeito side, the CDP abandoned its longstanding position that the
Legislation for Peace and Security was unconstitutional, and dropped its unconditional
opposition to nuclear power. On 20 January, the party announced that 144 of the 148 CDP's House of Representatives legislators would participate in the CRA. Two were set to retire, while two others, including Haraguchi, would not join the CRA. Aoyama, in turn, would run as an unaffiliated candidate.
Yoriko Madoka, a DPFP legislator, also planned to participate in the party. The party's merged caucus had 172 seats in the House of Representatives at the time of dissolution. Representatives
Ryo Tagaya (
Southern Kanto PR Block), who left
Reiwa Shinsengumi, and
Kunio Arakaki (
Okinawa's 2nd district), who left the
SDP, also joined the party. In the
2026 election, the CRA lost a significant number of seats, winning only 49 of them, while the LDP gained seats and secured more than a two-thirds majority of the lower house on its own. 21 CDP-affiliated candidates won seats, down from 144 before, while 28 Komeito-affiliated candidates won seats, up from 21 before. CRA co-presidents Noda and Saito announced their resignation the following day, with Noda saying that the result was "an extremely bitter blow." In the
2026 Japanese local elections, the CDP and Komeito will field their own candidates instead of a unified CRA banner. In addition, the parties have not merged in the House of Councillors. == Organization ==