Governing parties push ahead with electoral reform bill | Japan Daily Briefing
After the LDP signs off, Ishin no Kai looks to Sanseitō
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The LDP and Ishin look for way forward for electoral reform bill
After a Tuesday meeting failed to secure the approval of backbenchers for the compromise concluded between the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and Ishin no Kai, the party continued discussions on Wednesday, 3 December and secured consent, clearing the way for the joint bill to be submitted to the Diet.
It was never likely that backbenchers would be able to block an agreement reached between Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae and Ishin no Kai, but the two-day meeting revealed the degree to which there is uneasiness within the party with Takaichi’s leadership and the party’s new partnership with Ishin.
Meanwhile, with the fate of the LDP-Ishin bill uncertain in a divided Diet, Ishin no Kai co-leader Fujita Fumitake met with Sanseitō leader Kamiya Sōhei on Thursday, 4 December to appeal to him for support, since the party’s fifteen seats in the upper house would be sufficient to pass it. Kamiya is demanding that the ruling parties commit to passing legislation criminalizing the destruction of national symbols and countering espionage as the price of Sanseitō’s backing. Fujita expressed his gratitude for Kamiya’s “proactive attitude.”
