Diet Session Set on August 1

The parties in the Diet agreed on convoking an extraordinary session of the Diet on August 1st. The House of Councillors will elect new speaker in the session, following the Upper House election in which the leading coalition lost its majority. The opposition parties are united to pass a bill to freeze temporary gasoline tax to support the consumers suffering from persistent price inflation, as the first attempt for them to pressure the leading coalition.

Since the leading coalition, the Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito, lost majority in the Upper House at the election on July 20th, it is possible that the opposition parties elect their own speaker, if they are united to elect one name. However, it is unclear whether fragmented opposition parties, from communists to new ultra-right party, can agree on voting for a common speaker, even though the biggest opposition party, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDPJ), hopes other opposition parties to elect one of their members. The LDP, as the biggest party, hopes to elect one of their members.

 

The election has no candidate. Every voter can vote for any member in the House. But each party ordinary concentrates their votes for one person. The member who achieved majority will be the speaker. If no one gets majority, run-off election will be held by two members who collected most votes. In the run-off, the member who obtained more votes will be the winner, even if the person does not reach the majority in all members.

 

Although the session is supposed to last only five days, which is necessary to elect new speaker and vice-speaker, five opposition parties agreed on submitting a bill for abolishing temporary rate for gasoline tax. Those parties are the CDPJ, Japan Innovation Party, the Democratic party for the People, Reiwa Shinsengumi and Japan Communist Party, which has a seat in Committee on Rules and Administration of the House of Representatives.

 

Those five parties, co-sponsoring with Conservative Party of Japan and Sanseito, submitted the same bill to the ordinary session of the Diet in June. Although the bill failed to pass the Diet at the time, it showed that the opposition parties could be united for one bill. After losing majority in the Upper House, the leading coalition seems not to be able to refuse the bill in the extraordinary session in August.

 

Ishiba faces criticisms from young members of the LDP against his decision to stay as the prime minister without taking responsibility for serious decline of seats in the Upper House election. If Ishiba announces his resignation before the extraordinary session, it is likely that the opposition parties will request the election for new prime minister.

 

The LDP is not ready to elect new prime minister so far. That is why Ishiba is supposed to refrain from announcing his resignation, even though he hopes to step down. Ishiba can buy the time for settling internal frustration in the LDP as long as the Diet session continues.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dilemma between Alliance and Constitution

  In the new year ministerial online meeting, Japan and United States resolved to work together to deal with various challenges by China. In the Joint Statement of the Security Consultative Committee, or “2+2,” the ministers of both government, US Secretaries of State and Defense and Japanese Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Defense, expressed their concerns on Beijing’s efforts, which were recognized as undermining the rule-based order in Indo-Pacific region and the world. On possible countermeasures, however, there still is a possibility of constitutional dispute in Japan over the principle of exclusively defensive security policy. The ministers referred to their concern about China’s activities in the East and the West China Sea. They reaffirmed to apply Article V of US-Japan Treaty of mutual Cooperation and Security to the Senkaku Islands, and strongly objected to China’s unlawful maritime claims, militarization and coercive activities in the South China Sea. They did not forge...
Read more

Oral Argument against Landfill

Governor of Okinawa Denny Tamaki made an unusual appearance to the court on Monday to submit his opinion on the building of new base for United States Force in Henoko, Nago city. “Execution by proxy of the national government, which violates the independency of Okinawa, cannot be accepted,” said Tamaki in the first oral argument at Naha Branch of Fukuoka High Court on the trial over the request of national government to change the design of new base. Accepting demand from Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, the court closed the trial on the day one.   The national government submitted in 2020 a change of plan for the construction of new base, which was to reinforce the soil of sea base. The government of Okinawa rejected the plan and Tokyo ordered Okinawa accepting it, but Okinawa did not obey, and then Tokyo filed a lawsuit. The Supreme Court decided in September that the order of national government was lawful. Seeing that Okinawa did not approve the plan by ...
Read more

New But Traditional Capitalism

According to the top leader of Japan, the country is going to lead the world with a concept of “new capitalism.” In his annual policy speech to the National Diet on Monday, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida required the people to join his challenge for economic and social change, to which he believed the world to be stepping forward. However, his challenge looks to be relatively leaning on traditional growth-oriented policies, lacking strong momentum for wealth distribution to every corner of Japanese society.      Kishida tried to sell his new capitalism as the key to economic revitalization. He listed various hazards the world was encountering; wider gap and poverty brought by dependence on market economy without fair distribution, shortage of mid- or long-term investment caused by putting priority on efficiency of competitive market, losing sustainability, arial gap between the urban and the rural, serious climate change with pressure on the nature, and crisis of healthy de...
Read more