CDPJ’s Jun Azumi Appointed as Budget Committee Chairperson; 1st Opposition Member to Take Up Post in 30 Years

The Yomiuri Shimbun

14:03 JST, November 14, 2024

The House of Representatives on Wednesday appointed Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan lawmaker Jun Azumi as the chairperson of its Budget Committee, the first time since 1994 that an opposition member is chairing the committee, which discusses a wide range of topics on national politics.

Under the current minority government, opposition parties increased their share of chairperson posts for the chamber’s standing and special committees as well as review boards at the personnel affairs meeting that took place on Wednesday.

The proportion of the ruling and opposition parties’ chairpersons of standing committees changed after the election. Before the election, the ruling parties had 15 chairpersons and the opposition had two. The ruling parties now have 10 chairpersons, while the opposition has seven, which includes a previously appointed Rules and Administration Committee chairperson.

Following his appointment, Azumi, the CDPJ’s former Diet Affairs Committee chairperson, told reporters on Wednesday in the Diet, “I hope that we can achieve a Diet where the ruling and opposition parties are evenly matched in their deliberations, unlike in the past when the ruling bloc unilaterally decided schedules.”

Seven special committee chair posts were allocated to three Liberal Democratic Party members, three CDPJ members and one Japan Innovation Party member.

The Commission on the Constitution , one of the three review boards, is chaired by former CDPJ leader Yukio Edano. He is the first opposition member to take up the post on the board that discusses constitutional reform.

“We will seek common ground while recognizing partisan differences,” Edano told reporters.