Photo/Illutration Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba answers questions from opposition leaders at a Diet session on Oct. 7. (Takeshi Iwashita)

In his first Diet debate, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba came under fire for retreating from his previous positions on key issues, including allowing married couples to take separate surnames.

During the extraordinary Diet session on Oct. 7, Harumi Yoshida from the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan pressed Ishiba on whether he would revise current laws that require married couples to use only one surname.

The prime minister expressed caution.

“There are various opinions among the public, and the government needs to conduct a further examination,” Ishiba said.

He also refrained from expressing whether he supported or opposed the legal change, and he did not provide his personal views on the potential impact that such a revision could have on families.

During the Liberal Democratic Party’s presidential election, Ishiba expressed strong support for the change.

“We must resolve the pain and disadvantages that arise from not being able to choose a surname,” he said in August during his campaign.

Although opinion polls show that the majority of voters are in favor of introducing a dual-surname system, many conservative lawmakers in LDP have blocked progress on the issue due to their supporters’ preference for traditional family values.

The new prime minister also appeared to backtrack on his earlier commitment to increase the tax rate on capital gains.

“It’s important to promote a shift in home finances from savings to investment, and I am not currently considering a specific tax increase,” he said.

During the LDP election, Ishiba said he was planning to raise taxes on income gained through investments.

In the Diet session, Ishiba also affirmed the government’s plan to abolish the current public health insurance cards and integrate them into My Number identification cards.

He had previously suggested that he would push back the deadline for the integration from December this year.

Many residents remain hesitant about sharing their health insurance information with the My Number system due to a series of technical glitches that have led to data mix-ups and leaks.

Yuichiro Tamaki, leader of the Democratic Party for the People, challenged Ishiba during the questioning session over his apparent compromises on key issues.

“Have you changed yourself before changing the LDP? Mr. prime minister, you need to wake up,” Tamaki said.

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