LDP-Led Ruling Bloc Regains Lower House Majority

Tokyo, Nov. 28 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s ruling bloc regained its majority in the House of Representatives as three independent lawmakers agreed Friday to join the Liberal Democratic Party’s parliamentary group in the lower chamber. The deal was reached at a meeting between the independents–Takeshi Saiki, Tadashi Morishima and Hiroki Abe–and LDP Secretary-General Shunichi Suzuki, bringing the ruling bloc’s share in the 465-seat Lower House to 233 seats. The LDP-led ruling bloc lost its majority in the chamber in October 2024, under then Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. A majority in the Lower House enables the ruling bloc to enact budget bills, thanks to the supremacy of the chamber over the House of Councillors, the upper chamber, under the Constitution. It also eases worries of a no-confidence motion against the cabinet. Meanwhile, the ruling bloc remains six seats short of a majority in the 248-seat Upper House, meaning that cooperation from the opposition camp is still necessary to pass legislation, which must be approved by both chambers in principle. “We’ll prioritize relations with other parties and listen carefully to them,” Suzuki told reporters. The LDP has been working behind the scenes, mainly through its election strategy chief, Keiji Furuya, who is close to Takaichi, to persuade the three independents to join the LDP group. It is also urging another independent Lower House lawmaker, Keiro Kitagami, to do the same. Despite joining the LDP’s parliamentary group, the three lawmakers will remain independents. The three were formerly members of Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Innovation Party), which replaced Komeito as the LDP’s coalition partner in October. In September, they submitted resignation letters to Nippon Ishin due to frustration with its leadership. However, the party refused to accept their resignations and expelled them instead. They had since acted as a group, and backed Takaichi in last month’s parliamentary vote to elect the prime minister. Speaking to reporters in Osaka Prefecture on Friday, Nippon Ishin leader Hirofumi Yoshimura, also governor of the western prefecture, welcomed the ruling bloc regaining its Lower House majority, saying, “We came one step closer to realizing our policies.” But at the same time, Yoshimura criticized the three former Nippon Ishin members, arguing that they should resign as lawmakers and return their seats to the party. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]