Parties Disagree on Grand Coalition

Having the Upper House election within a month ahead, a national conference of the leaders of business and academics held a discussion of party leaders in Tokyo on June 29th. Both heads of ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDPJ) dismissed possibility of having a grand coalition with each other, raising their difference on basic policies. It is likely that the current style of Japanese politics, in which the parties formulate partial cooperation on specific policy, will be maintained under the circumstance of minority government in the Lower House. 

The conference is commonly known as ReIWA, an abbreviation of Reinventing Infrastructure of Wisdom and Action. ReIWA is organized in June 2022 by about one hundred members from business sectors, labor unions and scholars to make proposals to the politics. The conference issued policy packages on social security system, fiscal reform or management of political funds, upholding a principle of sustainability of Japanese society and democracy.

 

On a grand coalition, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba (president of the LDP) required broad consensus on policies to form a coalition with other parties. “As a Cabinet is supposed to be collectively responsible to the Diet, it is not possible for parties to establish a coalition with consensus only on one or two themes,” said Ishiba in the discussion. He demanded a firm consensus at least in diplomacy, security and fiscal policy.

 

The leader of CDPJ Yoshihiko Noda also denied coalition with the LDP, insisting on his determination to win a government by the CDPJ itself. “It is not easy to build a coalition with the LDP. The coalition cannot be formed with the power at the opposite bank,” said Noda. He meanwhile expected cooperation with the Democratic Party for the People (DPP) which shares the same political ground as the CDPJ.

 

The head of DPP Yuichiro Tamaki indicated various patterns for policy cooperation, regardless the ruling power or the opposition. He did not rule out a possibility of joining the leading coalition after the Upper House election. The head of Japan Innovation Party Hirofumi Yoshimura (Governor of Osaka) denied his intention of joining the leading coalition, emphasizing the party’s principle of reforming Japanese society by implementing their own policies.

 

Tomoko Tamura, the Chairwoman of Japan Communist Party (JCP), hoped immediate change of administration led by the LDP and Komeito, based on cooperation in election. JCP promotes discussion with the CDPJ for strategic integration of candidates in the Upper House election. JCP decided not to field its own candidate in the districts of Fukushima and Kagoshima, where the CDPJ has its candidates. JCP is going to expand the framework of the cooperation to drag down the LDP and Komeito from administration.

 

In the policy discussion, Ishiba proposed a discussion body for social security reform beyond the party lines. The LDP, Komeito and the CDPJ have reached an agreement on reform of pension system in the last session of the Diet. However, the parties differed in the ReIWA discussion on abolishment of political donation from companies and consumption tax cut.

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