Overview
- The group led by former minister Ryota Takeda held its first meeting Thursday at the Diet and adopted the name Comprehensive Security Study Group.
- Twenty-two lawmakers attended in person, or 26 with proxies, most from the defunct Nikai faction, though party policy chief Takashi Kobayashi stayed away.
- The forum set weekly Thursday sessions with outside experts on defense, energy, the economy, and national resilience to craft member-sponsored bills.
- Takeda said he will not register a political organization and pledged to break with old faction practices, yet some LDP insiders call it a de facto Takeda faction.
- The launch follows last June’s dissolution of most LDP factions after an illicit funding scandal, as other blocs regroup too, including an expanded Aso camp and new Upper House alignments reported this week.