Photo/Illutration Prime Minister Sanae Takaich and Nippon Ishin (Japan Innovation Party) leader Hirofumi Yoshimura attend a joint news conference after their meeting in the Diet on Dec. 16. (Takeshi Iwashita)

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Nippon Ishin (Japan Innovation Party) leader Hirofumi Yoshimura on Dec. 16 shelved a bill to reduce the number of Lower House seats until next year.

With the extraordinary Diet session closing on Dec. 17, the two leaders agreed to aim to pass the bill in the ordinary Diet session that will open in January.

The bill seeks a 10-percent reduction in the 465-seat Lower House.

Specifics of the reduction will be discussed in a cross-party electoral system council established under the Lower House speaker, according to the bill.

However, opposition parties have criticized the bill and the ruling coalition’s push for its passage, making it unclear if progress can be made during the ordinary Diet session.

Both Takaichi and Yoshimura said the lack of cooperation from the opposition was “regrettable.”

After the meeting, Takaichi said at a news conference, “We want to work together to reach a final plan next year.”

Yoshimura said, “I want the opposition parties to deliberate on this properly.”

However, opposition parties will likely first call for a conclusion on the “political reform” issue of restricting corporate and organizational donations.

Talks on this matter could be prolonged, given that Takaichi’s Liberal Democratic Party is reluctant to regulate corporate and organizational donations.

Nippon Ishin had positioned the Diet seat reduction plan as a top priority during discussions with the LDP to form the coalition. Nippon Ishin even demanded that a seat-reduction bill be passed during the extraordinary session.

The two parties submitted the bill to the Lower House on Dec. 5.

But Diet deliberations on the bill never started.

The opposition bloc called the move “hasty.” The parties particularly objected to a provision stating that 25 seats representing single-seat districts and 20 from proportional representation blocs would “automatically” be cut if the electoral system council could not reach a conclusion within one year.

There were also objections within the LDP.

A former Cabinet minister of the party said, “I oppose the argument that we should just cut seats for the sake of cutting.”

A senior government official added, “Reducing the number of single-seat districts is unrealistic.”

(This article was compiled from reports written by Shinkai Kawabe and Anri Takahashi.)

 

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