Personal Relationship Reflected in Leaders’ Debate

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba attended debate with the opposition leaders in the Diet for the third time in current ordinary session. Reflecting ongoing policy discussions with 　each party, Ishiba showed clear contrast in his answering to the question they made. The preference of Ishiba represented not only distance in policies, but personal relationship with the opposition leaders in his career in politics. 

The leaders who stood for question against Ishiba were Yoshihiko Noda of Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDPJ), Seiji Maehara of Japan Innovation Party (Ishin) and Yuichiro Tamaki of Democratic Party for the People (DPP). All of three were lawmakers with Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ). At the time of DPJ administration between 2009 and 2012, Noda led the party as the prime minister and Maehara as the minister for foreign affairs. Tamaki was one of the DPJ freshmen. Ishiba was the chairman of Policy Research Council of the opposition Liberal Democratic Party.

 

After losing majority in the House of Representatives last October, the LDP continued policy discussion with the opposition parties to pass bills in the Diet. The leading party agreed on pension reform with the CDPJ, which bill is expected to pass the Diet by the end of current session. The leading coalition, LDP and Komeito, successfully established a frame work with Ishin on reduction of school tuition and other policies. However, the LDP has been sober to the DPP which insisted on raising tax reduction.

 

The stance of the LDP toward the opposition parties were reflected in Ishiba’s debate with those opposition leaders. Ishiba paid the highest respect to Noda, who is one of the predecessors of him as prime minister, on the decision to raise consumption tax rate to support welfare for aged people in 2012. Having said that, Ishiba dismissed the request of Noda for consumption tax cut for foods, introducing importance of social security for aged people.

 

Ishiba has a rich experience of policy discussion with Maehara for decades. To the request of Maehara to launch a multi-partisan conference for social security, Ishiba immediately agreed on that idea. “Such a kind of table for discussion is absolutely needed,” said Ishiba in the debate. Ishiba promised that he would implement all the agreement in trilateral policy talk with Ishin and Komeito.

 

Ishiba does not have a close relationship with Tamaki, anyway. Tamaki accused the LDP of possible introduction of allowance to the people who are suffering from persistent price inflation just before the Upper House election. To Tamaki’s argument that Ishiba was using taxed money for the LDP, Ishiba emotionally refuted. “I have never had an idea that tax revenue belonged to the LDP. You had better to stop insulting me,” said Ishiba to Tamaki.

 

The greatest rival of the LDP in the Upper House election is supposed to be the DPP, which approval rate have been growing and is eroding LDP’s supporters. However, Ishiba’s offensive position on Tamaki was based on his frustration with DPP’s insistence on its own policy, ignoring LDP’s effort to find out viable fiscal resource for tax reduction.

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