Photo/Illutration Yoshihiko Noda, leader of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, asks a question to Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, seated at his right, during a Lower House plenary session on Jan. 27. (Takeshi Iwashita)

The leader of the main opposition party squared off against Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba during an opening Diet debate but failed to elicit substantive responses on key policy issues.

In a Lower House plenary session on Jan. 27, Yoshihiko Noda of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan started his 35-minute question session by seeking Ishiba’s opinion on early actions of the second Trump administration.

“How do you assess the impact of the United States opting out of the World Health Organization and the Paris Agreement on climate change?” asked Noda, a former prime minister, who was elected to the top CDP post in September.

Ishiba, however, sidestepped making a rash judgment on U.S. President Donald Trump’s decisions.

“We will carefully analyze and evaluate them, including U.S. movements in the future,” the prime minister said. “I will refrain from making a hasty assessment.”

Noda was the first opposition lawmaker to take on Ishiba in a question-and-answer session that follows the prime minister’s policy speech on the opening day of the ordinary Diet session on Jan. 24.

He then turned to a recent government projection that the primary balance of the central and local governments will remain in a 4.5 trillion yen ($29 billion) deficit in fiscal 2025.

“Doesn’t it seriously undermine confidence in the government?” asked Noda, an advocate of fiscal discipline.

A primary balance deficit means that taxes and other revenues cannot cover expenditures on administrative services, such as public works projects, social security and education, and additional funds need to be raised through bonds or other means.

Ishiba countered that fiscal conditions have been steadily improving.

“We will achieve a primary balance surplus at an early date and secure the credibility in our country’s fiscal conditions within the financial markets,” the prime minister said.

Noda also took aim at a new political fund scandal involving Liberal Democratic Party members of the Tokyo metropolitan assembly.

Twenty-six current and former assembly members failed to report a combined 29 million yen in revenues from fund-raising parties in 2019 and 2022, according to an LDP internal investigation.

Noda demanded a thorough re-investigation covering other prefectures.

However, Ishiba effectively ruled out a fresh probe, saying that the party has no inkling of other cases of underreporting.

The ruling and opposition parties agreed to make a final decision on political donations from companies and organizations by the end of March after failing to reach a conclusion during the extraordinary Diet session in autumn.

The issue emerged as a focus of political fund reforms after the fund-raising scandal involving LDP Diet members eroded public confidence in the ruling party and contributed to its loss in the Lower House election in October.

The LDP is seeking to improve the transparency of such donations to avoid an outright ban demanded by many opposition parties.

Noda asked if Ishiba has a firm resolve to get the “homework” done, but the prime minister only said he does not believe that donations from companies and organizations are inappropriate.

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