The Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and the Democratic Party for the People will set up a forum shortly to coordinate basic policies in areas including the economy, foreign affairs and security, energy and the Constitution, CDP policy chief Kazuhiko Shigetoku said Thursday.
The CDP thinks that the discussions will open the way for the two opposition parties to cooperate in an election in summer next year for the House of Councillors, the upper chamber of parliament.
The forum will bring together CDP and DPP lawmakers elected from the Japanese Trade Union Confederation, or Rengo, which is a major supporter of the two parties, in addition to their policy chiefs.
The CDP aims to reach an agreement on basic policies with the DPP as early as possible within this fiscal year, which ends next March, Shigetoku said at a press conference.
Meanwhile, Rengo, the largest umbrella organization of labor unions in Japan, aims to ensure that the ruling coalition ends up winning less than a majority of 124 seats that are up for grabs in the Upper House election, people familiar with the matter said.
Rengo thinks that the CDP and the DPP need to avoid competition in the election, which it sees as an important step toward a change of government, the people said.
It will call on the two parties to reach an agreement on basic policies to smooth the way for campaign cooperation in the election.
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