Noda Questions Ishiba on Corporate Donations, Surname System; Disclosure Not Prohibition, PM says

The Japan News

17:28 JST, January 27, 2025

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Monday the government would focus on “disclosure rather than prohibition” of contributions by companies and organizations, in response to a demand to ban them from Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan President Yoshihiko Noda, who kicked off three days of interpellations by each party at plenary sessions of both houses of the Diet.

“[The Liberal Democratic Party] has maintained the position that there is no reason to prohibit the donations from corporations and organizations that play an important role in our country,” Ishiba, who is also the party’s president, said at a House of Representatives plenary session. “It is working to ensure the transparency of political funding, including corporate donations, based on the idea of disclosure rather than prohibition.”

In his interpellation held in response to Ishiba’s policy speech, Noda also demanded the prime minister reinvestigate local organizations of the LDP, following a “politics and money” scandal involving an LDP group in the Tokyo metropolitan assembly that failed to report income from sales of fundraising party tickets.

As for the introduction of a selective surname system for married couples, Noda urged Ishiba to “demonstrate leadership” and consolidate opinions within the LDP regarding the matter. He also sought opinions from Justice Minister Keisuke Suzuki and Junko Mihara, minister for measures for declining birthrate.

In response, Ishiba said that the surname issue is “a topic of great interest to the public, and we do not intend to put it off indefinitely. We will have more discussions and deepen our understanding in order to clarify our party’s position on the matter.”

Regarding Japan-U.S. relations, Noda urged Ishiba to build a relationship with U.S. President Donald Trump, saying, “I hope that a summit will be held as soon as possible and that a personal relationship based on trust will be built.”

CDPJ member Akiko Kamei called for improved treatment of nursery school and kindergarten teachers.

Ishiba said the government will work to significantly improve their treatment by raising their salaries more than 10% in the budget for fiscal 2025.

Japan Innovation Party co-representative Seiji Maehara, meanwhile, called for the realization of free high school tuition from next fiscal year, irrespective of parents’ income.

Having lost its majority in the lower house, the ruling coalition of the LDP and Komeito has no choice but to cooperate with opposition parties to pass the 2025 budget bill in the lower house. The ruling bloc has held working-level discussions with the JIP to realize free high school tuition.