The Diet reopens for business | This week in Japanese politics

Ishiba's speech, budget talks, the BOJ raises rates, and Japan will not participate as an observer at a summit on banning nuclear weapons

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The rundown

The Emperor opens the 217th session of the Diet on Friday, 24 January. Source: House of Representatives of Japan.

The ordinary session of the Diet opened with a policy speech from Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru, but it received a cool reception from the opposition — and from some members of his party. The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) is still looking for opposition support for the budget, while also agreeing to a Constitutional Democratic Party (CDP) proposal to change how the budget committee will review the government’s draft. Meanwhile, the Bank of Japan raised interest rates to their highest level since 2008. The Ishiba government will not act as an observer to the conference of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in March, though it will send a delegation of lawmakers to attend. Plus: Foreign Minister Iwaya Takeshi hit back at some of his critics in the LDP.

Politics

Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru delivers his policy speech to the Diet. Source: Prime Minister’s Office of Japan

The ordinary session of the Diet opened on Friday, 24 January, with Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru delivering a policy speech in which he called on the opposition parties to work constructively with his minority government to pass the budget and other legislation. (Text; my analysis) While opposition parties questioned the substance of the policy speech, Ishiba's LDP rival Takaichi Sanae questioned Ishiba's willingness to work with opposition parties as threatening to the LDP’s very identity.