Centrist Party Ready to Join Proposed National Conference

Tokyo, Feb. 1 (Jiji Press)–Centrist Reform Alliance co-head Tetsuo Saito on Sunday pledged the major Japanese opposition party’s participation in a suprapartisan national conference proposed by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. “We will actively join” the envisioned conference after the upcoming general election, in order to realize a consumption tax cut and the introduction of a refundable tax credit program, Saito said in a debate program of Japan Broadcasting Corp., or NHK. Takaichi, also president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, has shown a plan to launch the national conference within January. But the launch has been put on hold as the House of Representatives, the powerful lower chamber of the Diet, Japan’s parliament, was dissolved for the general election, set for Feb. 8. Saito said that his party will actively engage in discussions at the conference to help build consensus. In the TV program, participants, including leaders of political parties, held debates on measures to control inflation and boost economic activities, key issues in the closely watched Lower House election. The Centrist Reform Alliance was established recently by the major opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and Komeito, the former coalition partner of the LDP. Saito said that the new opposition party, which aims to reduce the consumption tax rate to zero for food as a permanent measure as part of its pledges for the election, plans to set up a new government fund and use investment returns from state-held assets to cover revenue drops resulting from the tax reduction. Norihisa Tamura, executive acting chairman of the LDP’s Policy Research Council, sounded negative about the new fund plan and said that the party plans to review existing tax break programs, among other options, to generate financial resources for reducing the consumption tax rate for food to zero for a limited period of two years. Tamura appeared in the debate program on behalf of Takaichi, who canceled her participation due to treatment for her hand injury. Hirofumi Yoshimura, leader of the Japan Innovation Party, the current coalition partner of the LDP, criticized the Centrist Reform Alliance’s plan, saying that investment profits cannot be stable financial resources. Democratic Party for the People leader Yuichiro Tamaki said a consumption tax cut will not have a quick effect on lowering prices, stressing that residential tax and social security premiums should be reduced immediately. Japanese Communist Party chief Tomoko Tamura said that Japan has implemented large-scale tax cuts for major companies under Abenomics, the reflationary policy mix of the late former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Financial resources can be created if the measures are withdrawn, she said. Reiwa Shinsengumi co-leader Akiko Oishi slammed the Takaichi-proposed national conference, saying that it is just for “buying time.” Kazuhiro Haraguchi, co-chief of the recently established Tax Cuts Japan & Patriotic Alliance, called for abolishing the consumption tax, which he said is weakening the country. Sanseito chief Sohei Kamiya said that the Japan Post Holdings Co. group should be converted to a public corporation again and that profits from its operations should be distributed to the public. Naoki Hyakuta, leader of the Conservative Party of Japan, suggested that accepting immigrants will help destroy Japan. Social Democratic Party head Mizuho Fukushima called for imposing tax on the internal reserves of large companies. Team Mirai chief Takahiro Anno vowed to raise the share of elderly people’s out-of-pocket medical expenses to 30 pct in principle. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]