JIP Remains in Coalition without Diet Seat Reduction

The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and Japan Innovation Party (JIP) failed in enacting the bill for reducing seats in the House of Representatives in the extraordinary session of the Diet, which was closed on December 17th. Both parties agreed on postponing the issue to the ordinary session of next year. Although JIP regarded the issue as crucial for maintaining coalition with the LDP, it does not show any sign of breaking up the relationship.

In the agreement for forming a coalition, the LDP and JIP promised to pass the bill to reduce seats in the Lower House in the extraordinary session in this fall. This issue was upheld by JIP, when it decided to build a coalition with the LDP, instead of promoting regulation on political donation from companies and organizations. It was likely that JIP brought the issue as a justification for not focusing on the donation issue.

 

JIP believed that seat reduction in Osaka Prefectural Assembly and Osaka City, which had been led by the party, attracted the voters in the elections and caused a political surge of the party. JIP leader and Governor of Osaka, Hirofumi Yoshimura, called Lower House seat reduction a “center pin” of political reform, a description which resembled the reform to bowing in which failure of hitting the head pin does not achieve a strike.

 

However, the LDP has basically been reluctant to implement the promise. The bill was needed to be discussed in the Special Committee for Political Reform in the Lower House, which was chaired by Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDPJ). Although the LDP and JIP sponsored a bill for reducing 25 seats in single-seat districts and 20 seats in proportional district, CDPJ blocked it, prioritizing another bill for introducing regulation on donation from companies and organizations.

 

When it became hopeless for JIP to push the bill in the last days of the session, Yoshimura changed his expression about seat reduction. He redefined the seat reduction in the Lower House from “center pin” to “number one in the 1st street,” a description which meant high priority among other issues. JIP considered how they could remain in the coalition without achieving a result in their important issue.

 

“It was regrettable for us to finish the session without discussing the seat reduction bill. There is a difference between that we could not decide and that we did not decide. We are going to pass the bill in the next session,” said Yoshimura at a press conference after meeting with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on the day before end of the session. It is likely that JIP has missed the first opportunity to depart the coalition with the LDP.

 

The parties are discussing reform of election system form various aspects. There is an argument that single-seat district system is not fitting current tendency of diversity in preference of political parties, which causes discussion of introduction of multi-seat district system. Considering the schedule that interim result of the national population census in 2025 will be reported in May 2026, discussion for seat reduction will be next May or later. It makes difficult to pass the bill even in the ordinary session in 2026.

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