Ruling Parties Clinch Lower House Majority: Importance of Consensus-Building in Democracy Remains Unchanged

Editorial

14:00 JST, December 2, 2025

The three nonaffiliated House of Representatives lawmakers from the Kaikaku no Kai parliamentary group have joined the Liberal Democratic Party’s lower house parliamentary group. This brings the total number of lawmakers in the parliamentary groups of the ruling coalition parties — the LDP and the Japan Innovation Party — to 233, securing a majority in the 465-seat lower house.

This development will likely be a positive factor for Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in running her administration.

However, the situation remains precarious, as losing even one member would again drive the coalition back into minority status. Moreover, the ruling coalition remains a minority in the House of Councillors. Complacency cannot be allowed.

To navigate this “distorted Diet” in which the majority differs between the two chambers, continued efforts to build consensus with the opposition parties will be essential.

Since the then coalition of the LDP and Komeito fell below a majority in the House of Representatives election in October last year, the ruling coalition has repeatedly conceded to opposition demands — such as raising the income tax exemption threshold and implementing tuition-free high school education — to pass budgets, disregarding the financial resources needed for such moves.

Now that the current coalition of the LDP and the JIP have gained a majority in the lower house, the coalition can unilaterally pass budgets and approve treaties — areas where the lower house holds supremacy under the Constitution. It is crucial to move away from governance that blindly swallows the opposition’s demands without firm principles.

However, passing bills still requires approval in both houses, and cooperation from opposition parties is indispensable.

As public opinion diversifies and Japan has entered an era of truly multiparty politics, it will likely be difficult for the LDP to secure a majority on its own going forward. As the largest party, the LDP must continue to explore cooperation with parties that can share responsibility not only for addressing current issues but also for Japan’s future.

The opposition parties, too, must consider what role they should play for the nation, rather than merely demanding policies just to win popularity with the public.

Given these perspectives, it is impossible not to feel uneasy about the stance of the JIP, which, despite being a party in the ruling coalition, continues to insist on its signature policy of “self-sacrificing reforms.”

After the launch of the Takaichi Cabinet, there was a liaison meeting between the government and the ruling parties, followed by a meeting of the leaders of the ruling parties, at which the leaders reached a broad agreement on a lawmaker-sponsored bill to reduce the number of lower house seats, which is scheduled to be submitted to the current Diet session.

Under the agreement, the bill will include a provision that 25 seats from the single-seat constituency segment and 20 seats from the proportional representation segment will be automatically eliminated if a council of the ruling and opposition parties on the lower house election system fails to reach a conclusion within one year. This makes it appear that the LDP yielded to the JIP’s strong stance.

However, the election system, the very arena of democracy, should fundamentally be decided based on broad agreement between ruling and opposition parties. It must be said that the logic of forcing through the ruling parties’ idea if the opposition’s agreement cannot be obtained contradicts the principles of parliamentary democracy.

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Dec. 2, 2025)