INTERVIEW: Nippon Ishin May Leave Govt if Seat Cut Talks Falter

Tokyo, Nov. 27 (Jiji Press)–Takashi Endo, parliamentary affairs chief of Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Innovation Party), warned Thursday that his party may leave the ruling bloc if talks with its coalition partner, the Liberal Democratic Party, on reducing the number of House of Representatives seats falter. Endo, who also serves as special adviser to Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, said in an interview with Jiji Press that a bill on cutting seats in the all-important lower chamber of parliament should be enacted during the ongoing parliamentary session, even if it means the session must be extended from its current end date of Dec. 17. The LDP and Nippon Ishin plan to submit a bill featuring the general framework for reducing Lower House seats to the session. The two parties said in their coalition agreement that they will seek to submit a lawmaker-sponsored bill to the current extraordinary parliament session to slash the number of seats in the Lower House by a target of 10 pct. Although Nippon Ishin positions the seat reduction as an absolute condition for the coalition, there are still cautious voices within the LDP over the move. “The terms of the agreement are promises to the public,” Endo said, warning that Nippon Ishin may leave the coalition if the bill does not contain the junior ruling party’s proposal of trimming the lower chamber by 50 seats. “Reducing the number of lawmakers by 50 to cut spending by 5 billion yen is not the overriding principle. What is needed now is a political stance that makes people think, ‘When it’s time to act, they act,'” Endo said. Nippon Ishin hopes to enact the bill during the ongoing parliamentary session, and Endo said that “saying there is no time is just an excuse used by political parties.” The Takaichi cabinet is enjoying high approval ratings in media opinion polls, and some within the LDP call for an early dissolution of the Lower House for a snap general election. Endo expressed a cautious view on this, noting that Takaichi herself has said that expectations will rapidly diminish if results are not delivered. “As we deliver results, the timing will come to seek voter response through an election,” he added. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]