Overview

• Komeito leader Tetsuo Saito said the party will not write Sanae Takaichi’s name in the prime ministerial ballot unless a new agreement is reached.
• The break leaves the LDP roughly 37 seats short of a lower house majority and still short in the upper house, pushing it to seek support from other parties.
• Komeito pointed to the LDP’s handling of a slush‑fund scandal as decisive, with Takaichi’s appointment of Koichi Hagiuda to a senior post heightening tensions.
• Saito said Komeito could still cooperate on budgets and previously prepared legislation, signaling case‑by‑case bargaining on policy.
• Markets reacted to the split, with the Nikkei closing about 1% lower and the yen moving as investors assessed the political uncertainty.