LDP, JIP ‘make Significant Progress’ on Day 2 of Coalition Talks (Update1)

The Yomiuri Shimbun

16:36 JST, October 17, 2025 (updated at 17:50 JST, Oct. 17)

The Liberal Democratic Party and the Japan Innovation Party have “made significant progress” in their coalition talks, JIP coleader Fumitake Fujita said Friday after their second day of discussions on policy measures.

Fujita said the two parties would continue detailed discussions.

He also said it would be difficult for the JIP to continue talks on working with the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and the Democratic Party for the People, saying it would be challenging to come to an agreement before Tuesday, when an extraordinary Diet session is set to convene.

The talks have been held between Fujita and LDP President Sanae Takaichi, along with the secretaries general and policy research council chairpersons of both parties.

The JIP has included a 10% reduction in the number of Diet seats as one of the 12 categories of policy measures it seeks to implement and demanded the passage of related bills within this year.

“Reducing the number of Diet seats is a condition that must be met,” JIP leader and Osaka Gov. Hirofumi Yoshimura said on a TV program in the morning. “We should carry out fundamental reforms in Japan.”

The 12 categories are divided into those on which agreement is likely to be reached quickly, such as free high school tuition — already extensively debated by both parties — and medium- to long-term issues like the abolition of political donations by corporations and groups. The two parties will likely prioritize certain items to build a consensus.

The JIP proposed timelines for some of these categories with the intention of “immediately touting their accomplishment once they are achieved,” according to a veteran JIP official.

One such item is the “secondary capital” concept, which Yoshimura has declared “an absolute condition” for joining a coalition, alongside social security reform. The party views the initiative as an extension of its flagship Osaka metropolis plan and demanded the passage of related bills during next year’s ordinary Diet session.

The JIP’s demands even extend beyond short-term policies. The party sees Komeito’s dramatic breakaway from the LDP as a favorable opportunity, leading one veteran JIP member to say, “We should also push policies that require time to implement once we have formed a coalition.”

In regard to corporate and group donations, the LDP has insisted on keeping the practice but intends to make political funding from such donations more transparent. In contrast, the JIP, which has taken a strict stance on politics and money issues, argues for their prohibition.

Given that Komeito’s demand for stricter regulations on this matter was a trigger for the breakaway, the JIP executives are aware that a compromise will be necessary.

PM election date agreed

LDP Diet Affairs Committee Chairperson Hiroshi Kajiyama and his CDPJ counterpart Hirofumi Ryu agreed Friday that the prime ministerial election will be held Tuesday.

The LDP intends to swiftly form a cabinet and launch the new administration if Takaichi is elected as prime minister.

Kajiyama and Ryu confirmed the session would last 58 days until Dec. 17.

Kajiyama also proposed the prime minister’s policy speech be delivered on Oct. 24.