One year on, LDP-JIP partnership still has some holes to fill

The Japan Innovation Party's Hiroshi Nakatsuka (center), minister for regulatory reform, greets Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi at a Cabinet meeting in Tokyo on Tuesday. | JIJI

Oct 21, 2026

A year after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi forged a hasty coalition government with the Japan Innovation Party (JIP), what began as a political marriage of convenience is evolving into a deeper relationship after some parliamentary successes.

But with controversial legislation still to be enacted and not everyone in Takaichi’s Liberal Democratic Party enthusiastic about a long-term relationship with the JIP — also known as Nippon Ishin no Kai — the coalition’s future remains uncertain, even though a divorce anytime soon appears unlikely.

After being elected LDP president last October, Takaichi faced her first crisis when Komeito, the LDP’s coalition partner since 1999, announced it was departing because it could not support her conservative, hawkish policy approach.

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