Japan Ruling, Opposition Camps Split over Secondary Capital Bill Vote

Tokyo, July 23 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s ruling and opposition parties intensified their battle Thursday over a bill to create a secondary capital of the country, during talks at the House of Councillors, the upper chamber of the Diet, or parliament. With the extended current session of the Diet set to end Saturday, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party proposed a voting schedule with an aim to enact the bill Friday. Six opposition parties put their decision on hold, calling for a ban on holding local referendums on the establishment of special wards and related local elections simultaneously. Based on a response from the LDP, Upper House Diet affairs chiefs of the opposition parties will discuss on Friday whether to agree to hold a vote on the bill at the chamber. The legislation, submitted by the LDP and its coalition partner, the Japan Innovation Party, cleared the House of Representatives, the lower chamber, last week. The current Diet session, which was originally slated to end last Friday, has been extended for eight days as the ruling bloc aims to enact the bill during the session. If it becomes difficult to pass the bill, the ruling side may consider extending the session again. On Thursday, Yoshihiko Isozaki, the LDP’s Diet affairs chief in the Upper House, met with Yoshitaka Saito, Diet affairs head of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, the largest opposition party in the chamber. Isozaki proposed a vote at an Upper House special committee Friday, having in mind a plan to present the bill to an Upper House plenary meeting later in the day. As a condition for accepting the voting schedule, Saito demanded a supplementary resolution or parliamentary remarks to clarify a ban on simultaneous local referendums and elections, costs necessary for the development of a secondary capital, and a review of the design of a system that allows the designation of a secondary capital before a basic policy is formulated. At a meeting later, Isozaki sounded positive on showing the costs related to a secondary capital and reviewing the system design. But he expressed disapproval of the ban on simultaneous referendums and elections, saying, “It’s difficult to write it in a supplementary resolution.” He only showed a vague draft of a supplementary resolution stipulating that “local election boards take appropriate measures to ensure a free and fair vote.” Saito rejected Isozaki’s proposal and asked for a reconsideration. After the meeting, Saito told reporters, “We will not agree to a vote (on the secondary capital bill) unless the ruling side shows a satisfactory response.” Team Mirai, an opposition party, voted for the bill at the Lower House. As the LDP, the JIP and Team Mirai are two seats short of an Upper House majority, however, the ruling parties are calling on independent lawmakers in the chamber to support the legislation. If votes take place at the Upper House and the bill is voted down, the ruling coalition may seek to enact the bill by passing it at the Lower House again by a two-thirds majority, a measure allowed under a constitutional provision. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]