Political Reform 101 Dropped

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi agreed with the leader of Japan Innovation Party (JIP) Hirofumi Yoshimura on abandoning reduction of seats in the House of Representatives in current session of the Diet. The session is scheduled to close on July 17th. The Lower House seat reduction has been labeled as “Political Reform 101” by Yoshimura and became one of the causes for JIP to form the leading coalition with the Liberal Democratic Party. One of the political agenda of JIP was blocked by opposition beyond the party lines.

Takaichi and Yoshimura agreed in their meeting at the Diet on July 7th that their parties would seek legislation of the seats reduction in next session of the Diet and continue to make effort for enacting Backup Capital Act in current session. Both bills have been crucial agenda pushed by JIP to pass in current session, and JIP lost one of them. The LDP regarded the bill for seat reduction as important for maintaining the leading coalition with JIP.

 

Before forming the leading coalition with the LDP last October, JIP was focusing on regulation of political fund as the urgent issue for political reform. But once the party realized the issue to be an obstruction for making the leading coalition, JIP abruptly changed its focus and brought reduction of seats in the Diet at the highest priority. Yoshimura called this issue “Political Reform 101,” meaning the most important issue for political reform.

 

The seat reduction was used as the cause for JIP to form the leading coalition with the LDP and became an item for saving Yoshimura’s face. Receiving hard push from JIP, the LDP sponsored a bill to reduce 45 seats (mostly ten percent of all) in proportional district of the Lower House. But the bill faced firm protest from opposition parties, which were heavily relied on the lawmakers from proportional district.

 

When the leading parties unilaterally began discussion on the seat reduction bill without consent from the opposition parties in late June, opposition parties were united in boycotting all the discussion in both chambers of the Diet. Unilateral procedure ironically encouraged unusual unification of the opposition parties. The leading coalition does not have a majority in the Upper House. The opposition parties effectively kidnapped other bills including revision of Imperial House Law or Backup Capital Act.

 

Not only the oppositions but some LDP members have been annoyed with hard push of JIP. The parties have been discussing other reform in election system of the Diet. Insisting on implementation of its own Political Reform 101, Yoshimura has been pressuring Takaichi to promote the seat reduction. Yoshimura firmly believes that seat reduction of the Diet works for higher popularity of JIP, because JIP was successful in boosting its popularity when it reduced seats in Osaka Prefectural Assembly.

 

However, seat reduction of the Diet has traditionally been discussed by Diet members. Yoshimura is not a Diet member. Diet members beyond party line embrace a fundamental question that why they would need to reduce their seats forced by a governor of local government. Yoshimura is nobody but the governor of Osaka.

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