Komeito
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Komeito (公明党, Kōmeitō), formerly New Komeito (NKP) and commonly referred to as simply Komei, is a political party in Japan affiliated with the Soka Gakkai religious movement. It is generally considered centrist and socially conservative. From 1999 to 2009 and from 2012 to 2025, it served in government as the junior coalition partner of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). Komeito was founded by the leader of Soka Gakkai, Daisaku Ikeda, in 1964. In 1993 and 1994, Komeito joined the non-LDP governments of Morihiro Hosokawa and Tsutomu Hata. With the collapse of the Hata government in 1994, Komeito split into New Kōmei Party and Kōmei; the New Kōmei Party merged with other smaller opposition parties to establish the New Frontier Party (NFP). After the dissolution of the NFP in 1997, some former New Kōmei Party established the New Peace Party, which merged with Kōmei in 1998 to establish the New Komeito. In 1999, the party entered into a coalition with LDP, serving in the government until the coalition lost power in 2009. In 2012, the coalition regained power. In 2014 the party changed its English name back to Komeito. In 2025, Komeito ended its alliance with the LDP. A self-proclaimed party of "humanitarian socialism", Komeito has been described as being closely affiliated with Soka Gakkai. During its alliance with the LDP, Komeito acted as a moderating force over security and military policies. In foreign policy, the party advocates for a more pacifist diplomacy and closer relations with China. Tetsuo Saito has been the president of the party since 9 November 2024. Komeito currently has 24 elected deputies in the House of Representatives and 21 deputies in the House of Councillors.