Japan's snap election could upend long standing political alignments, with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi strong personally but her party weakened by scandals, defections and voter frustration over the cost of living.

Japan's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) is a huge electoral machine that has governed the nation for all but four years since its founding 70 years ago.

By Satoshi Sugiyama TOKYO, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Japan's main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and Komeito have agreed to form a new political party, their leaders said on Thursday, in an attempt to present a united front against a ruling camp that they see as too right-leaning.

If we define the opposition party not by dictionary but politically, it would be the political force that causes the president the most headaches. In that sense, the Democratic Party was a clear opposition party during the Yoon Suk-yeol government.

Japan's new party pitching centrist policies officially kicked off Thursday as the largest opposition force in the House of Representatives, announcing over 220 candidates to run on its ticket for the Feb 8 election and a pledge to eliminate the consumption tax on food starting in this fall.