FOCUS: New centrist opposition a wild card in Japan PM's election gambit

TOKYO - Japan's new centrist party, formed shortly ahead of a snap general election, is seeking to derail Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's hopes of securing the political capital needed to enact her controversial policy agenda, opening the way for further consolidation within the long-fractured opposition.

The Centrist Reform Alliance is poised to rely heavily on organizational muscle in the Feb. 8 election, a common asset of the two parties behind the union. The Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan can marshal the support of labor unions and the Komeito party is able to wield the significant mobilizing power of its lay-Buddhist backer Soka Gakkai.