Momentum for Lower House Seat Cut Stalls after LDP Election Win

Tokyo, Feb. 16 (Jiji Press)–A proposal to reduce the number of seats in Japan’s House of Representatives may be put on hold following the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s landslide victory in the Lower House election earlier this month. Calls for shelving the proposal are growing within the LDP, which accepted the proposal in exchange for the Japan Innovation Party’s participation in the ruling bloc to secure a Lower House majority last year. On Feb. 9, the day after the Lower House election, Prime Minister and LDP President Sanae Takaichi and JIP leader Hirofumi Yoshimura agreed to continue their alliance and pursue the Lower House seat reduction plan, as outlined in the two parties’ coalition agreement. “Reducing the number of seats is the crux” of parliamentary reform, Yoshimura told reporters after the meeting. However, Takaichi did not mention the seat cut plan at a later press conference, highlighting a difference in the two leaders’ priorities. The JIP demanded a reduction in the size of the Lower House as a prerequisite for joining the LDP-led coalition. Takaichi accepted the demand despite deep-rooted opposition within her party. Last December, the LDP and the JIP submitted a bill that would automatically cut 25 constituency seats and 20 proportional representation seats in the Lower House if the ruling and opposition camps fail to reach a conclusion on the matter within a year. However, opposition parties protested the automatic reduction provision and refused to start parliamentary deliberations on the bill. In the election, the LDP won 316 seats in the 465-seat Lower House, significantly changing the power dynamic between the two ruling parties. The LDP can now pass bills that are voted down in the House of Councillors, the upper chamber, on its own. “There is no need to forcibly reduce the number of seats,” an LDP source said. “Discussing it among parliamentary groups will suffice.” Meanwhile, a veteran LDP official said the party cannot fully ignore the proposal as it still lacks a majority in the Upper House. The official added, however, “We just have to make the JIP look good in discussions.” The LDP’s election victory is also expected to impact discussions about revising political donation rules following the party’s slush fund scandal. While the Centrist Reform Alliance and the Democratic Party for the People are calling for allowing only the headquarters and prefectural chapters of political parties to receive donations from companies and organizations, the LDP, which has some 7,000 smaller branches, opposes this. Tightening the donation rules has been a key issue in parliament over the last two years, but the centrist party’s poor showing in the Lower House election is likely to cast a shadow over the initiative. “We have so few lawmakers that we cannot put pressure on the LDP,” said a middle-ranking member of the opposition party. The LDP now plans to call on opposition parties to discuss its proposal to increase the disclosure of political donations. “There’s no point in continuing discussions indefinitely,” said a senior LDP official close to the prime minister. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]