Leaders of New Komeito feel a sense of crisis ahead of the Nov. 9 general election for the House of Representatives.
The party's participation since 1999 in a Liberal Democratic Party-led alliance has not necessarily helped it at election time. In the previous Lower House election, in 2000, it saw its seats fall from 42 to 31, the level it maintained until the 480-seat lower chamber was dissolved on Oct. 10.
With the Democratic Party of Japan, the largest opposition force, apparently gaining upward momentum with its recent absorption of the Liberal Party, public attention has focused more on the LDP-DPJ rivalry than on smaller forces like New Komeito.