Photo/Illutration From left: Takayuki Kobayashi, Yoshimasa Hayashi, Toshimitsu Motegi, Sanae Takaichi and Shinjiro Koizumi attend at a joint news conference in Tokyo on Sept. 23. (Takeshi Iwashita)

All five candidates in the Liberal Democratic Party’s presidential election expressed reluctance toward pushing two proposals of opposition parties: a consumption tax cut and allowing married couples to take separate surnames.

The candidates also appear ready to renege on the LDP’s election promise to provide 20,000-yen ($135) cash handouts to help the public deal with rising prices.

So, no matter who wins the Oct. 4 election, these proposals are unlikely to move forward in the near term.

At a Sept. 23 joint news conference at the party headquarters in Tokyo, the five candidates expressed cautious views regarding the introduction of a system allowing dual surnames for married couples.

Farm minister Shinjiro Koizumi had supported the initiative during last year’s LDP presidential election.

“My belief that we need to expand life choices remains unchanged,” he said.

However, he emphasized, “The LDP has not reached a conclusion, and the opposition parties are also divided.”

He indicated that if he is elected LDP chief, he would not rush a decision on the long-standing issue.

“National understanding and a consensus between ruling and opposition parties are necessary,” Koizumi said.

The other four candidates have consistently taken a cool view toward the measure.

“First, the LDP needs to consolidate its views,” Takayuki Kobayashi, a former economic security minister, said. “Expanding the use of maiden names as aliases might be the solution.”

Toshimitsu Motegi, a former LDP secretary-general, agreed, saying, “Building a consensus is important.”

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi stated, “We will engage in two-way communication with the public.”

Sanae Takaichi, another former economic security minister, said, “It is precisely on matters where opinions differ that we want to take time to formulate our approach.”

Japanese laws require married couples to pick one surname for their family registers.

In the previous regular Diet session, the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and the Democratic Party for the People submitted bills to introduce a dual-surname system.

Nippon Ishin (Japan Innovation Party) also submitted a bill to legalize the use of maiden names as aliases.

The LDP’s stance could create a majority in the Diet to determine what direction to take on the family name issue.

However, voting on these bills was shelved.

And since all LDP candidates expressed caution toward change, a conclusion on the issue is unlikely during the extraordinary Diet session following the Oct. 4 election.

During the Upper House election in July, the ruling coalition of the LDP and Komeito pledged to provide 20,000 yen per citizen.

After the coalition lost its Upper House majority in that election, all LDP candidates appear poised to forgo implementing the uniform cash handout plan.

“The public clearly said ‘no’ (to the handouts) during the Upper House election,” Takaichi said on a TV program on Sept. 22.

The candidates proposed other measures to address rising prices, particularly the abolition of the old provisional gasoline tax rate.

Six ruling and opposition parties in July agreed to nix the rate in 2025 as a measure to help the public deal with inflation.

“I want to accelerate discussions between ruling and opposition parties so that we can abolish it promptly,” Koizumi said.

But all of the candidates distanced themselves from another opposition proposal: reducing the consumption tax.

The LDP politicians said revenue from the tax is crucial for funding social security programs. They also cited the challenges of updating systems, including at retailers, for a change in the tax rate.

(This article was compiled from reports written by Ryutaro Abe and Shinya Tokushima.)

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