Yuichiro Tamaki, the representative of the Democratic Party of the People, who was elected to continue as president, will do everything in his power to expand the party's strength with an eye on gaining power. For the time being, he plans to postpone participating in the Takaichi administration's coalition, which has been talked about for some time. The party will first become the largest opposition party in the Upper House in the summer 2028 House of Councilors election, increase its ability to implement policies and communicate its message, and aim to gain power after the next House of Representatives election. Another challenge is to break away from the party's dependence on Mr. Tamaki as an individual.
National Democratic Party to verify undelivered ballots: 7,878 party members and others have not received the ballots
"The House of Councilors election is a big challenge. We will count backwards and do what we need to do to win." Tamaki said this at a press conference after the presidential election on the 6th, positioning his new three-year term as a ``period of preparation for the administration.''
Until now, there had been hopes that the Liberal Democratic Party would join the coalition, but the rift with the government over Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's food consumption tax cut deepened, and the party reached ``the level before the coalition'' (Tamaki). The government is poised to present a counterproposal to the consumption tax reduction bill during this fall's extraordinary Diet session, which will test how it will deal with the administration. If the centrist reform coalition is expected to split, and the opposition party becomes even more fragmented, there is a possibility that the presence of the National Democratic Party will become relatively stronger.
The National Democratic Party has 25 seats in the House of Councilors. Bearing in mind that the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, the main opposition party in the House of Councilors, currently has 39 seats, Tamaki has set a goal of increasing the number to 40 or more in the 2028 House of Councilors election. In the 2022 House of Councilors election, in which the 2028 reselection group was elected, the Liberal Democratic Party won a landslide victory, and the Democratic People's Democratic Party lost the number of seats it held before the reselection. A senior party official said enthusiastically, ``There is room for growth.''
However, the path to expanding power is not easy. Opinion polls conducted by media outlets show that the party's support rating is low. The ``annual income barrier'' hike and gasoline tax cut, which were the driving forces behind the government's progress in the national election, have been realized, but the ``next major policy'' that follows these efforts has not been announced. There are currently only 28 seats in the House of Representatives, and a party official said, ``We need to double the number of seats we have.It's a fairly high hurdle.''
Mikihiko Hashimoto, a member of the House of Representatives who competed in the representative election, gained a certain amount of support by reforming the party's management system, known as ``Tamaki Shoten,'' and calling for a system-building that involves local politicians and party members. Toward the end of the representative election, it was discovered that some party members and supporters did not receive their ballots due to a clerical error, exposing the fragility of the party's administrative system. A party official pointed out, ``He has not yet completely broken away from being a venture company.''
Regarding executive personnel, the focus will be on the treatment of young and mid-level employees such as Mr. Hashimoto. Mr. Tamaki is required to take concrete measures to strengthen organizational strength.
