Special Diet Session Closes: Debate on Policy Should Not Be Left behind

Editorial

15:54 JST, November 15, 2024

The extraordinary Diet session last month lasted only nine days and the House of Representatives was dissolved. Also, the recent special Diet session closed in just four days, without any debate between the government and the ruling and opposition parties.

That policy debate has been abandoned since the launch of the Cabinet of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is a serious situation. Hasn’t the Diet fallen into such a situation because Ishiba does not have clear policies on dealing with domestic and foreign issues?

The results of the lower house election mean that the ruling parties alone cannot pass budget proposals and legislative bills. Now that they are minority ruling parties, it should be important for them to deepen discussions with opposition parties and find common ground in an open Diet session.

Since the ordinary Diet session closed in June, a law to provide relief to victims under the now-defunct eugenics protection law has been the only legislation passed at the Diet. It is problematic that the Diet’s role of identifying administrative and legislative problems through deliberations and then working to improve is not being fulfilled.

The security environment around Japan is deteriorating severely. There is an urgent need to strengthen defense capabilities and secure the financial resources to that end. The shrinking of the population continues unabated. How to revive and grow the economy is also a difficult task.

Despite a mountain of internal and external challenges, since taking office on Oct. 1, Ishiba has persistently focused most on responding to the scandal involving violations of the Political Funds Control Law by factions of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.

Ishiba has expressed his willingness to abolish political activity funds. He intends to again urge lawmakers from the former Abe and other factions who failed to record funds they received in their political funds reports and have yet to explain themselves at the Deliberative Council on Political Ethics sessions to attend such sessions.

Since the LDP suffered a crushing defeat in the lower house election due to focus being put on the issue of politics and money, the prime minister seems to believe it necessary to show an active attitude toward political reform in order to continue his administration.

There is no question that increasing the transparency of political funds is important.

However, this issue has already been settled as a criminal case, with the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office’s special investigation squad having conducted a thorough investigation and criminal cases having been pursued against accounting managers of the factions and others. It will not be easy to uncover new facts, even if the non-legally binding political ethics council sessions were to be held.

Ishiba did not appoint lawmakers who failed to record funds they received in their political funds reports as senior vice ministers or parliamentary secretaries in his second Cabinet. If he keeps viewing Diet members who were elected after facing the judgment of voters in the lower house election as problematic, when does he intend to put an end to the issue of politics and money?

In the first place, it is difficult to understand how the administrative errors of failing to include funds they received in political funds reports is treated in the same manner as high-profile bribery or other incidents.

Hasn’t confusion arisen because the prime minister has not expressed a clear stance on the issue of political funds and is instead willing to accept the opposition parties’ arguments to prolong the life of his Cabinet?

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Nov. 15, 2024)