Tokyo, Oct. 31 (Jiji Press)–Whether Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi will attend deliberations at a House of Representatives committee will be crucial to efforts to pass legislation to cut the consumption tax through the lower chamber as early as Friday. The ruling Liberal Democratic Party hopes to hold Lower House committee and plenary votes Friday on the bill to reduce the consumption tax rate for food items to 1 pct from 8 pct for two years and pay benefits equivalent to 1 pct of consumption tax to low- and middle-income workers. The legislation will then be sent to the Senate, previously called the House of Councillors, so that it can be enacted before the current parliamentary session ends on Dec. 12. Meanwhile, opposition parties are demanding that Takaichi attend deliberations at the Lower House Financial Affairs Committee. The two sides are set to discuss Takaichi’s possible participation on Wednesday, the next time the committee holds a meeting. Opposition parties seek around 30 hours of Lower House deliberations on the bill. After Wednesday’s Financial Affairs Committee meeting, the total will reach 28 hours, excluding the time spent to collect expert opinions. Yuichi Goto, parliamentary affairs leader for a centrist group in the Lower House comprising the Democratic Reform Party and Komeito, has proposed to the LDP that Takaichi attend two hours of deliberations. “We won’t ask for anything more,” he told reporters, suggesting that the parliamentary group will allow a vote on the bill to be held if the demand is met. On Friday, LDP parliamentary affairs leader Hideki Murai said the ruling bloc will take the demand seriously but declined to give a clear answer. Murai and Goto are set to discuss the matter again on Wednesday. “There is probably no choice but to agree to the prime minister’s attendance,” an LDP source said. The legislation lacks important details, including how to cover the revenue drop resulting from the tax cut and the amount of the planned benefits. In response to opposition calls for clarity, the government presented what it calls reference information that annual benefits for low-income workers would be around 5,000 yen for two years starting next year. However, the information has not satisfied opposition parties. “Releasing information little by little is not a sincere way to conduct discussions,” Komeito Secretary-General Makoto Nishida told a news conference. “We can’t decide whether to support the legislation unless we are given more numbers,” a senior official of the Democratic Party for the People said. Opposition parties hold a stronger position in the Senate, as the ruling bloc lacks a majority. The chamber has decided to hold deliberations on the bill at a special committee, at the request of opposition parties. The special committee can meet without being bound by the schedule of regular sitting days and summon cabinet ministers other than Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama, who is in charge of the legislation, to answer questions. “The real battle will be in the Upper House,” a senior Komeito member said. The ruling coalition is four seats short of a majority in the Senate. Although it has secured the support of the Conservative Party of Japan, which holds two seats, whether the legislation will pass remains uncertain. The bloc is expected to step up efforts to win support from opposition parties, particularly Komeito and the DPFP. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
