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Yomiuri Shimbun file photo The Diet Building in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo
The Yomiuri Shimbun
18:06 JST, January 24, 2025
Three major challenges await the minority ruling coalition as the ordinary Diet session gets underway. The three are budget deliberations, the handling of political donations from corporations and organizations, and the pros and cons of introducing a selective surname system for married couples.
The first ordinary Diet session under the administration of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba convened Friday.
Given that the ruling parties have less than a majority in the House of Representatives, Ishiba is expected to face difficulty steering Diet proceedings. The cooperation of opposition parties will be essential for the ruling parties.
Tetsuo Saito, leader of junior ruling coalition partner Komeito, said at a party convention Thursday that the party will make every effort to ensure early passage of the fiscal 2025 budget.
“I have confirmed with Prime Minister Ishiba that the Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito will unite to ensure early passage of the budget bill,” Saito said. “Passing the budget by the end of the fiscal year is the biggest mission of the ruling parties.”
The budget deliberations are the first challenge for the government and the ruling parties. The ruling parties are holding policy discussions with both the Democratic Party for the People and the Japan Innovation Party as well, to win their support for the budget proposal.
The ruling parties are negotiating with the DPFP over the size of the “¥1.03 million barrier,” the annual income threshold above which income tax is levied. However, the negotiations have stalled as the ruling camp proposed raising the threshold to ¥1.23 million last December, but the DPFP is demanding that it be raised to ¥1.78 million.
Meanwhile, the ruling camp continues working-level discussions with the JIP to make school tuition free. Both parties agree on the need for free education but remain divided on the timing of its implementation and other issues.
Since it will be difficult for the budget bill to pass the lower house without the approval of either the DPFP or the JIP, discussions to find a compromise are expected to reach their climax in mid-February, before a vote is taken.
By the end of March, the ruling camp must decide how to deal with donations from corporations and organizations as a way of addressing the “politics and money” issue.
The LDP, which calls for the continuation of donations from corporations and organizations, hopes to gain the understanding of each party.
The LDP plans to submit a bill to the Diet that would have the internal affairs and communications minister announce the amount of money each party has received to improve transparency.
Among parties that advocate a ban on donations from corporations and other organizations, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan shows no sign of backing down. The CDPJ is ready to use the budget deliberations as a bargaining chip to sway the LDP and press for a ban.
The debate on the pros and cons of introducing a selective surname system for married couples is expected to kick into high gear after the new fiscal year begins on April 1.
While there are strongly cautious views within the LDP, Komeito is open to the introduction of the system. The LDP will be forced to take a difficult approach due to the lack of consensus within the ruling coalition.
The CDPJ, which won the chairmanship of the Committee on Judicial Affairs of the House of Representatives — where the debate will take place — intends to take the lead in the discussions toward the introduction of the system.
The main opposition parties are pushing for early passage of a bill to introduce “active cyber defense” to prevent serious cyberattacks. However, some are cautious about the introduction as it would affect the “secrecy of any means of communication” guaranteed in the Constitution.
A showdown is expected between the ruling and opposition parties over the details of the bill.
“The minority ruling coalition will face an uphill battle in trying to steer the parliamentary process,” a senior LDP official said.
