Ishiba open to economic reforms and talks with the opposition
After its electoral defeat, the Liberal Democratic Party began talks with the Democratic Party for the People, led by Yuichiro Tamaki, who is not willing to go beyond external support for the government. Opposition leader Yoshihiko Noda has intensified efforts to gain cross-party support for his bid for the post of prime minister, but he is not likely to succeed.
Tokyo (AsiaNews/Agencies) – The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which finds itself without a majority in the House of Representatives for the first time in 15 years, has announced that it has started talks with the Democratic People's Party (DPP) to discuss case-by-case support for a series of policy measures.
Prime Minister and LDP leader Shigeru Ishiba announced earlier this week that he was determined to form a minority government so as not to hand over power to Yoshihiko Noda, leader of the opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDPJ).
After his party more than tripled its seats in Parliament from 7 to 28, DPP leader Yuichiro Tamaki found himself tugged by both Ishiba and Noda, he said on television.
DPP’s results were considered exceptional by observers, considering that it was founded in 2018 and split just two years later.
In 2020, most of DPP MPs switched to the CDPJ, while a group of 10, led by Tamaki, created a centrist party, politically close to the ruling coalition, but never a part of it.
According to Tamaki, the DPP’s popularity grew because it focused on "solutions over confrontation".
Recently, the LDP has sought opposition support on individual policies rather than expanding the coalition, which will continue to include only the Komeito, its traditional Buddhist-inspired ally.
The general secretaries of the LDP and DPP began working together this morning to draw up a draft budget for the next fiscal year and try to reduce inflation.
In addition to political scandals, former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida found it hard to manage the economic crisis that gripped Japan for some time.
During the election campaign, Tamaki, who served as finance minister in 1993, backed economic policies to boost household incomes, including raising the wage threshold for paying taxes, a step the government has always been reluctant to take fearing it would cut into tax revenues.
“What we want is not cabinet posts but the realisation of the economic policies that the party promised in the election, such as increasing take-home pay and enriching the lives of the people," Tamaki said.
The DPP's number two, Kazuya Shimba, rejected the LDP's proposal of setting up a coordination committee; instead, he said his party would discuss measures on a case-by-case basis.
Komeito and DPP representatives are expected to meet tomorrow.
Meanwhile, LDP secretary general Hiroshi Moriyama announced that talks could start in the coming days with the CDPJ and the Innovation Party; the latter is the second-largest opposition party in parliament, but saw its seats drop from 43 to 38.
The appointment of the next prime minister will probably take place on 11 November. Despite Ishiba's statement that he wants to keep power in the hands of the LDP, Yoshihiko Noda has also stepped up efforts to gain cross-party support for his bid to be prime minister.
The DPP rejected the CDPJ’s request for leadership talks. Even the Innovation Party has not yet indicated whether it will support the CDPJ leader, who has only garnered support from the Communist Party of Japan.
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