JIP Searches for Identity of Reform Party

The coalition partner of ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Japan Innovation Party (JIP), is suffering from loss of identity, since it could not make a major progress in the Lower House election in February. Although it hopes to implement its campaign platform, including reduction of seats in the Diet, the party cannot have any viable perspective to make them happen. It cannot conclude that the decision of forming coalition with Sanae Takaichi administration has been right. 

Soon after Komeito left the leading coalition with LDP last October, quibbling with Takaichi’s victory in LDP presidential election, JIP agreed with the LDP to make a new partnership. Although it had been criticizing policies of the long ruling party, JIP exchanged policy package for political reform. Leaders of the party believed that implementation of those policies would be the cause of forming a coalition with the political enemy for years.

 

JIP expected that being a coalition partner would contribute to boosting itself with higher possibility of implementing its own reform policies than being one of the opposition parties. However, the LDP was not willing enough for JIP to push their agenda. Although JIP and LDP submitted the Diet last December a bill for reducing 45 seats from 465 in the Lower House, the LDP was not agile to pass the bill in the extraordinary session last year.

 

JIP wanted some achievements in policies before the Lower House election. But Takaichi decided a snap election in January before JIP obtained an achievement to sell in the election campaign. JIP firmly believes that the seat reduction will raise its public popularity, because it was successful in Osaka when a JIP governor promoted seat reduction in Osaka Prefectural Assembly. Consequently, JIP failed in having a major achievement in the Lower House election, adding only two seats from 34 before the election.

 

In the meeting with Takaichi, JIP Leader Hirofumi Yoshimura, the Governor of Osaka, got agreement of 45 reduction of Lower House seats by the end of current ordinary session of the Diet. Both leaders also shared willingness of promoting right-wing agenda, such as introduction of crime of destroying flag of Japan. They also decided to “make effort” to pass a bill for alternative capital to Tokyo, expecting to give Osaka a role of an alternative capital.

 

JIP held annual party convention on March 21st, in which the party included conservative agenda to achieve. Not only Diet seat reduction and crime of destruction of Japan’s flag, it upheld constitutional amendment and revision of Imperial House Law to attract right-wing voters, who had supposedly voted for the LDP in the Lower House election.

 

While identifying itself as a reform party, JIP abruptly dropped reform of political donation from companies and organizations, when it decided to form coalition with the LDP. It faces a contradiction that joining the coalition slows down its reform agenda, as it relies on political power of the LDP for the reform.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

LDP Kickoffs Presidential Election

The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP)   kicked off  its presidential election campaign on September 22 and five lawmakers officially submitted their candidacy to the party. Having lost majority in both Houses of the Diet under the leadership of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, the presidential election should be about how to regain power through reform of the party. Nevertheless, the candidates do not talk much about the reform, rather focusing on economic policies for the people or maneuvers to attract the opposition parties.   Those five candidates are former Minister on Economic Security Takayuki Kobayashi, former LDP Secretary General Toshimitsu Motegi, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi, former Minister on Economic Security Sanae Takaichi and Miniser of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Shinjiro Koizumi.   Kobayashi insists on temporary income tax cut with a fixed rate, which return is bigger for high-income taxpayers than them with low-income. Identifying h...
Read more

Defense Ministers Meet in Seoul

Minister of Defense Gen Nakatani visited Republic of Korea and had a meeting with ROK Minister of National Defense Ahn Gyu-back. It was the first time for Japanese defense minister to have a bilateral ministerial meeting in these ten years. Both ministers reconfirmed importance of trilateral security cooperation including the United States to deal with another trilateral cooperation by China, Russia and North Korea.   In the  press conference  after the meeting, Nakatani stressed importance of maintaining bilateral relationship between Japan and ROK, or Japan-ROK-U.S. relationship in a volatile security environment. Both ministers agreed on promoting discussion by both defense authorities and exchange of personnel. They also agreed on further cooperation in cutting edge technologies including artificial intelligence, unmanned system or the space. They will maintain joint exercise called “Freedom Edge,” in which multiple countries participate.   Their bilateral relati...
Read more

Contaminated Soil to Prime Minister’s Residence

Shigeru Ishiba Cabinet discussed how the radioactively contaminated soil in Fukushima prefecture would be treated and decided some of it should be used in Prime Minister’s Official Residence in Tokyo. Although the soil needs to be removed from Fukushima with legal requirement, the government of Japan has not found anywhere it should go. Ishiba administration hopes that the decision will pave the way for any local community to accept the soil.   Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant emitted a huge amount of radiation into the air, which contaminated the land surface around the site, in the severe accident in East Japan Great Earthquake in 2011. The contaminated soil in Fukushima prefecture was stocked in the intermediate stockyard built in the towns of Futaba and Okuma, where the power plant is located. The government promised the people in Fukushima to remove the soil out of Fukushima prefecture within thirty years, when it decided to build the stockyard in 2014.   The total a...
Read more