Cutting ties with JCP not easy for CDP despite Renho's defeat

The Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDP) faces growing calls from inside — and outside — its ranks to end its cooperation with the Japanese Communist Party (JCP) following the surprise third-place finish of Renho, an independent who received support from both parties in the July 7 Tokyo gubernatorial election.

But despite the Tokyo result, it could be difficult for the two opposition parties to end their agreement to back unified candidates in a national election. With Kenta Izumi’s term as CDP president expiring in September, all eyes are on whether he’ll run for reelection with a promise to support, end or make big changes to the party’s relationship with the JCP.

Former Upper House lawmaker and CDP veteran Renho secured about 1.28 million votes in the Tokyo contest, behind incumbent Gov. Yuriko Koike, who won with 2.92 million votes, and Shinji Ishimaru, the former mayor of the city of Akitakata, in Hiroshima Prefecture, who finished second with 1.66 million votes.