Photo/Illutration Yuichiro Tamaki, leader of the Democratic Party for the People, speaks at a news conference on Oct. 31. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

In a policy shift, the leader of the opposition Democratic Party for the People said the party will support a bill to ban political donations from companies and organizations if it is jointly submitted by opposition parties.

Speaking on a TV program on Nov. 3, DPP leader Yuichiro Tamaki said, “We are all for it if (opposition parties) sponsor the bill in unison,” when a moderator asked the party’s stance on a joint opposition bill to prohibit such donations.

While the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, Nippon Ishin (Japan Innovation Party) and the Japanese Communist Party have been calling for a ban on donations from companies and organizations, the DPP previously remained reluctant.

“We do not believe that donations by companies are bad and those by individuals are good,” Takami said on the Fuji Television Network Inc. program. “The most important thing is a requirement for timely and fair disclosure.”

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party and junior coalition partner Komeito are cautious about any proposal to outlaw donations from companies and organizations, which resurfaced as a key issue after the LDP was engulfed in a fund-raising scandal.

Tamaki will meet with CDP President Yoshihiko Noda on Nov. 5 ahead of a special Diet session expected to be convened on Nov. 11.

Noda has been seeking to form a united front among opposition parties on political reform to address problems that emerged during the LDP scandal.

The Diet affairs chiefs of opposition parties, including the DPP, will also hold a meeting on Nov. 5.

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