Japan’s LDP, Nippon Ishin Agree to Form Coalition Govt

Tokyo, Oct. 20 (Jiji Press)–The leaders of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party and Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Innovation Party) signed an agreement Monday to form a coalition government between the two parties. The pact, inked by LDP President Sanae Takaichi and Nippon Ishin chief Hirofumi Yoshimura at a meeting in the Diet, or the country’s parliament, on Monday night, features a plan to reduce the number of seats in the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the Diet, by 10 pct during an extraordinary Diet session that begins Tuesday. Nippon Ishin will not hold a ministerial post and will instead support the LDP from outside the cabinet. At a general meeting of its lawmakers earlier Monday, Nippon Ishin decided to vote for Takaichi in the prime ministerial nomination votes at the Diet on Tuesday. This all but ensures that the LDP chief will be selected as the successor to outgoing Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, as opposition parties have failed to throw their weight behind a unified candidate. Takaichi will become the country’s first-ever female prime minister. Takaichi and Yoshimura effectively agreed to form a coalition government during phone talks Monday morning. Yoshimura said in the call that the two parties should “move Japan forward together.” According to Nippon Ishin, the two parties have agreed to establish a consultative body to discuss scrapping the consumption tax on food for two years. They will also set up a similar body to discuss abolishing political donations by corporations and other organizations, with the aim of reaching an agreement by the end of Takaichi’s term as LDP leader, which concludes at the end of September 2027. The agreement also calls for enacting a bill related to Nippon Ishin’s “secondary capital” initiative at next year’s ordinary Diet session. After assuming the LDP presidency on Oct. 4, Takaichi moved to seek cooperation from Nippon Ishin and the Democratic Party for the People to expand the coalition framework. Following Komeito’s decision on Oct. 10 to leave the ruling coalition with the LDP, Takaichi accelerated efforts to form a coalition government with Nippon Ishin, which has made policy demands in 12 areas, including economy and finance, social security and political reform. Takaichi has proposed offering multiple ministerial posts to Nippon Ishin, but many in the party said it would be preferable to cooperate from outside the cabinet for now, in order to assess whether the agreed policies are implemented. In response, Takaichi plans to tap Nippon Ishin Diet affairs chief Takashi Endo, who has connections with many lawmakers on both the ruling and opposition sides, as a special adviser to the prime minister if she becomes prime minister and forms a cabinet. She hopes Endo’s appointment will help stabilize her administration. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]