Re-elected DPP leader Tamaki aims to become Japan's top opposition force

At a special meeting in Tokyo, Yuichiro Tamaki secured a decisive re-election as leader of the Democratic Party for the People, defeating Mikihiko Hashimoto with 127 of 159 points from parliamentary lawmakers, local representatives, party members and supporters. Tamaki, a former Finance Ministry bureaucrat, began a three-year term that runs until September 2029 and set a goal of making the DPP Japan’s biggest opposition force ahead of the 2028 House of Councillors election, calling the contest a decisive battle to restore bargaining power and policy influence.

He reiterated a “policy-by-policy” approach toward Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s Liberal Democratic Party, noting that speculation about joining the ruling coalition has cooled after the coalition’s plan to cut the consumption tax on food and drinks. The DPP now holds 28 seats in the 465-member House of Representatives and 25 seats in the upper house, where the ruling coalition lacks a majority. Tamaki also said internal reforms will be pursued to build a unified team and promote further changes within the party.