Ruling Bloc Gives Up on Early Passage of Diet Seat Cut Bill

Tokyo, Dec. 16 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s ruling parties have given up on enacting a bill to reduce the number of House of Representatives seats by the end of the current extraordinary session of the Diet on Wednesday. On Tuesday, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, president of the Liberal Democratic Party, and Osaka Governor Hirofumi Yoshimura, leader of the LDP’s coalition partner, the Japan Innovation Party (Nippon Ishin no Kai), met in the Diet and agreed that they will now aim for the bill’s passage during the next ordinary Diet session, which starts in January. The ruling parties decided against extending the extraordinary session because an extension would not guarantee the bill’s enactment due to criticism from opposition parties. “We can’t find a schedule for enactment,” LDP Secretary-General Shunichi Suzuki said at a press conference on Tuesday. Opposition parties have demanded that deliberations on three bills regarding political donations by companies and organizations be prioritized, while the ruling bloc has sought early deliberations on the seat reduction bill. When joining the LDP-led ruling bloc, the JIP demanded a cut in the number of Lower House seats as an “absolute condition.” Their coalition agreement in October stated that they would submit a related bill and seek to enact it during the extraordinary session. Based on the agreement, the ruling parties this month submitted a bill that would automatically cut 25 constituency seats and 20 proportional representation seats in the 465-seat Lower House if the ruling and opposition camps fail to reach a conclusion on the issue within a year. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]