Ruling Bloc Pushes Ahead with Signature Bills amid Opposition Boycott

Tokyo, June 30 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party-Japan Innovation Party coalition is pushing ahead with bills to establish a secondary capital in Japan and reduce the number of seats in the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the Diet, amid the boycott of Diet proceedings by opposition parties. On Tuesday, the ruling bloc began deliberations on the secondary capital bill in the Lower House special committee on regional revitalization. The Centrist Reform Alliance, the Democratic Party for the People, Sanseito and Team Mirai were absent. The committee’s chairman, Hideki Niwa of the LDP, decided under his authority to continue deliberations on Wednesday. The special committee on political reform discussed the Lower House seat reduction bill for a second day but forewent a vote on the bill amid the opposition’s absence. Its chairman, Teruo Minobe of the JIP, decided to hold another round of deliberations on Wednesday. Opposition parties are refusing to participate in Diet proceedings as the ruling bloc is rejecting their demand that the budget committees of both Diet chambers hold meetings with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in attendance. In response to the ruling bloc’s unilateral holding of deliberations on the two JIP-championed bills, the Diet affairs chiefs of the CRA and four other opposition parties met with Lower House Speaker Eisuke Mori on Tuesday and requested a suspension of deliberations on the two bills. The opposition parties also asked Mori to urge the ruling bloc to restore a calm environment ahead of deliberations on a bill to revise the Imperial House Law. Mori then conveyed the opposition parties’ requests to the Diet affairs chiefs of the LDP and the JIP. Speaking to reporters later in the day, the JIP’s Diet affairs chief, Takashi Endo, noted that deliberations on the revision bill should follow Lower House votes on the secondary capital and Diet seat reduction bills. In the House of Councillors, the upper chamber of the Diet, five opposition parties including the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan urged the budget committee’s chairman, Masahito Fujikawa of the LDP, to hold a committee meeting based on Upper House rules. They sought a response by noon on Friday. Meanwhile, the Diet affairs chiefs of the CDP and the LDP in the Upper House, Yoshitaka Saito and Yoshihiko Isozaki, respectively, agreed to hold a question-and-answer session with the prime minister in the Upper House’s Audit Committee on Monday. The opposition side accepted the session because it will not involve deliberations on legislation. The LDP is seeking a way to have opposition parties return to deliberations in the Upper House. “It would be difficult to pass all bills before the current Diet session ends,” if opposition parties continue to boycott deliberations, Isozaki said at a press conference on Tuesday. The ongoing session is currently scheduled to end on July 17. Junichi Ishii, secretary-general of the LDP in the Upper House, said that the party will work to normalize Diet affairs, starting with Monday’s Audit Committee meeting. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]