Tokyo – Japan’s opposition parties are coalescing around a demand for an exceptional session of the Diet, citing concerns over a potential political vacuum following the impending leadership change within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).
The move comes as current LDP President and Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru prepares to step down, triggering a party leadership election. Opposition leaders argue that critical legislative matters require immediate attention and cannot be delayed by the LDP’s internal processes. Six opposition parties – the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, Japan Innovation Party, democratic Party for the People, Sanseito, Japanese Communist Party, and Conservative Party of Japan - met Tuesday at the diet building to coordinate their strategy.
At the core of the opposition’s push is a desire to address pressing issues, including a proposed measure to reduce gasoline tax.They contend that delaying Diet debate on such matters would be irresponsible,particularly given a perceived public mandate for action. The parties have agreed to formally request the government and the LDP-Komeito coalition convene the Diet session quickly, and ideally before the LDP presidential election scheduled for October 4.
Following the meeting, Ryu Hirofumi, diet affairs Committee Chairperson for the Constitutional democratic Party of japan (CDP), communicated the opposition’s unified stance to his LDP counterpart, Sakamoto Tetsushi. “A political vacuum should not be allowed to continue any further due to the LDP’s domestic matter,” Ryu told reporters. “It is politically responsible to convene a Diet session within this month to work to fulfill a popular mandate.”
The call for an extraordinary session underscores the opposition’s intent to hold the ruling coalition accountable and ensure continued legislative progress despite the LDP’s leadership transition. The outcome of this demand will likely set the tone for political discourse in the coming weeks and could influence the timing and focus of the upcoming LDP leadership election.
