A special committee of the House of Councilors has begun deliberations on a bill related to the consumption tax reduction on food products. The House of Councilors, where the ruling party continues to lack a majority, is the ``main battleground'' for deliberating bills. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi responded to a three-hour question-and-answer session on the first day, and made a series of in-depth answers, making a rapid push toward gaining support from Komeito, but Komeito remains tepid, saying, ``It's not good enough,'' and prospects remain bleak.
Prime Minister Takaichi announces that 50% of subsidies will be targeted at workers, up to 60,000 yen for households with two children - consumption tax reduction bill to be discussed at House of Councilors committee
"We take the points raised seriously and will consider setting an income ceiling that will apply to more than 50% of active workers." At a special committee meeting of the House of Councilors on the 13th, the Prime Minister made the following statement about the mainstay of the bill, the ``Support Funds for Reducing Employee Burdens.'' This was in response to Komei's Takeshi Sugi, who complained that ``30% of working people is too low.40 to 50% is necessary.''
Regarding the target of support funds, the Prime Minister reiterated during a House of Representatives deliberation that the reference figure was ``roughly 30%'' of working people, and on the 6th, at the House of Representatives Finance and Financial Affairs Committee, he finally announced that it would be ``same or more than 30%'' in response to a question from Komeito representative Mitsunari Okamoto.
In response, the government's ``lip service'' on the 13th goes beyond expanding the scope of eligibility; it also predicted that households consisting of a couple and two children would receive up to 60,000 yen a year.
The prime minister's sudden attempt to compromise on the issue was motivated by a sense of crisis following the House of Representatives vote that resulted in the resignation of four members of the Liberal Democratic Party. Following the death of former House of Councilors Speaker Masaaki Yamazaki, the ruling party, including the Liberal Democratic Party and Nippon Ishin no Kai, now has 119 seats in the House of Councilors. Even if you include the two seats of the Japanese Conservative Party, which supports the vote, there are 121 seats, two seats short of the majority (123) excluding vacancies and the chairperson.
Initially, there was strong optimism within the Liberal Democratic Party that it would be possible to secure a majority by persuading a few independent members, but in the House of Councilors too, there was a growing sense that it was dangerous to rely on independent members, as the fiscal discipline faction could be inspired by the abstentions of four members of the House of Representatives and rebel. In order to secure a solid majority, Komeito or the Democratic Party of the People would need 21 seats, especially Komeito, whose demands are seen as realistic.
However, Komeito remains indifferent to the prime minister's ``concession'' so far. At a press conference on the 13th, Secretary-General Minoru Nishida reiterated his five demands, including benefits for pensioners, and asserted, ``Unless the government presents (responses) in a package rather than piecemeal, we will have no choice but to take harsh measures.''
The offensive efforts of other opposition parties, fueled by opposition from the Liberal Democratic Party, are unstoppable. The question-and-answer session of the committee with the Prime Minister in attendance lasted more than an hour in the House of Representatives on the first day, but the six opposition parties agreed at a meeting with the chairmen of the House of Councilors Committee on State Affairs on the 13th to request the prime minister's attendance multiple times. The end of the session is December 12th. The Liberal Democratic Party is aiming for a vote in the House of Councilors on the 2nd, but there are concerns from within the party that ``we may be forced to extend the session'' (a veteran).
