Questions from representatives of each party will be held over three days from the 7th to Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's policy speech. Regarding the issue of Liberal Democratic Party Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Kazuo Yan's statement that he "significantly cut" the road budgets of local governments whose leaders did not support him in the House of Representatives election, opposition parties will investigate his qualifications as a minister and whether there was any unwarranted political interference. The government seems to be forced to fight defensively.
Representative questions will be held in the House of Representatives on the 7th and 8th, and in the House of Councilors on the 8th and 9th. Mitsunari Okamoto, a representative of the Komeito Party who belongs to the ``Centrist'' unification faction in the House of Representatives and is the top opposition party, will take questions. I will ask the prime minister about the background to the budget cuts. Kazuyoshi Akabane, vice president of the party, told reporters inside the Diet on the 6th, ``Mr. Yan's comments call into question his qualifications as a member of the Diet.We must confirm the stance of the Takaichi administration.''
Yuichiro Tamaki, representative of the Democratic Party of the People, is scheduled to take the stage on the 8th. At a press conference on the 6th, he pointed out, ``It would be a problem if the (budget) rules were distorted due to the influence of a particular politician or political party.'' The ministry announced a policy of asking all ministries to investigate and submit the results to the Diet.
At a party meeting, Democratic Reform Party representative Junya Ogawa criticized the statement, saying, ``The quality is different from ordinary gaffes.The budget may have been distorted.''
The government and ruling party have a growing sense of crisis. On the 5th, Yan retracted his remarks, apologized, and expressed his desire to continue in the role. When his remarks were first reported, he avoided giving an explanation to the press, and his retraction and apology were delayed. There is dissatisfaction from within the Liberal Democratic Party, saying that the party has "opened the wound for itself."
At a press conference, LDP Acting Secretary-General Koichi Hagiuda called on Yan to fulfill his accountability. ``Don't make mistakes in how you use your power. If you carry out your duties with such thoughts, it would be arrogance and should never be tolerated.'' At the time of his remarks, Yan was serving as the party's first deputy secretary-general.
Top questions are likely to include topics such as the sources of funds for the consumption tax cut that the Prime Minister is aiming for, the reduction in the number of members of the House of Representatives, and the response to the arrest of a US Marine in Okinawa on suspicion of robbery and murder.
