Tokyo, Sept. 18 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s new cabinet will go all out to steadily implement a consumption tax cut and other policies pledged for the February general election, as well as measures stipulated in the coalition agreement reached between her ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its partner, the Japan Innovation Party. The proposed consumption tax cut on food products and a reduction in the number of seats in the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the Diet, Japan’s parliament, will be the first tests for the cabinet, which now includes a member from the JIP following Thursday’s reshuffle. Whether Takaichi can maintain her political clout and how she will address the Senate, previously called the House of Councillors, the upper chamber of the Diet, where the ruling bloc does not hold a majority, will be key to achieving the two goals, as consensus-building between the ruling and opposition camps is expected to be difficult. Takaichi, who prioritizes the fight against rising prices among domestic issues, will rush to pass legislation calling for the consumption tax on food items to be lowered to 1 pct from the current 8 pct for two years from next April during an extraordinary Diet session to be convened soon. Uncertainty, however, lingers over whether the ruling camp can secure cooperation from the opposition camp on its efforts to pass the legislation, especially as the Takaichi administration has yet to clarify how some 10 trillion yen needed for the tax reduction will be secured. If the legislation is rejected at the Upper House, the ruling camp may try to get it enacted by winning Lower House approval again with support from two-thirds of the chamber, using the constitutional provision giving the Lower House superiority over the Upper House. Cutting the number of Lower House seats has been advocated by the JIP as the key item in parliamentary reform. In the special Diet session that ended in July, the ruling camp submitted a bill to cut the number of Lower House proportional representation seats by 45, but it was carried over for further deliberation due to strong objections from the opposition camp. While negotiations on amending the bill are expected, there are differences among parties, with the Democratic Party for the People, Sanseito and Team Mirai calling for the establishment of a third-party panel of experts to discuss electoral reform and the appropriate number of seats as a package. Even within the LDP, some argue that deliberations on the bill should be postponed to next year’s ordinary Diet session. In a continuing bid to boost the country’s intelligence capabilities, the Takaichi cabinet will seek to accelerate debates on legislation related to counterespionage and the establishment of an external intelligence agency. It will also aim to compile a policy on accepting foreigners, based on a population strategy to be drawn up by the end of the year, including “quantitative management” of foreign residents in Japan. Takaichi wants to pave the way by next spring for the Diet to propose a constitutional revision. With even the ruling bloc split on details, however, a bumpy road is expected. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
