Overview

• On NHK, CDP secretary-general Jun Azumi said he will ask other opposition parties to consolidate behind Yoshihiko Noda in a potential Diet runoff for prime minister.
• Azumi described a mission-focused, time-bound approach to power sharing and said he aims to create conditions to govern together if Noda prevails.
• LDP leadership contender Toshimitsu Motegi said on commercial TV he would prioritize forming a coalition based on shared crisis priorities over seat-by-seat electoral deals and seeks to broaden ties with parties sharing basic policies.
• Motegi added that if electoral coordination does not materialize, competing candidates facing off in districts remains possible.
• He rejected an immediate Lower House dissolution upon taking office and argued against a quick consumption-tax cut, proposing trillion-yen-scale local grants to drive wage gains within two years.