The government and ruling party plan to pass the consumption tax reduction bill, which is positioned as the most important issue of the current Diet session, through the House of Representatives on November 6th. Opposition parties are demanding that Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi answer questions at the House of Representatives Finance and Financial Affairs Committee. The ruling and opposition parties will hold talks on the 4th regarding the pros and cons of the prime minister's attendance.
The House of Representatives Finance Committee is scheduled to hold its next deliberation on the 4th. The Liberal Democratic Party plans to vote on the bill at the committee and plenary session on the 6th and send it to the House of Councilors. We will do our best to pass the bill by the end of the session on December 12th.
Opposition parties have called for about 30 hours of questioning in the House of Representatives. Including the four days of deliberations, it will take a total of 28 hours (excluding questions from witnesses). Yuichi Goto, chairman of the National Relations Committee of the House of Representatives' moderate faction, has proposed to the Liberal Democratic Party that the Prime Minister join the party for two hours of deliberations, and told reporters, ``We are not asking for anything more than that.'' He indicated that he would accept a vote if the request was met.
Hideki Murai, chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party's country relations committee, said on October 30 that he would "take seriously" Goto's request, but avoided making a statement. Messrs. Murai and Goto will hold talks again on November 4, but a Liberal Democratic Party official said, ``The prime minister will have no choice but to agree to attend.''
There are still many unclear points about the bill, including the source of funding for the tax cut and the amount of the ``Employee Burden Reduction Support'' payment. In response to the opposition party's request, the government suggested that the minimum amount of support for low-income earners for two years starting next year would be around 5,000 yen a year, but this has not been understood by the opposition party.
Komeito Party Secretary-General Sanehito Nishida criticized the issue at a press conference, saying, ``It's not the right way to have an honest discussion, just giving away information.'' A senior official of the Democratic Party of Japan also expressed dissatisfaction, saying, ``Until we see more numbers, we won't be able to make a decision for or against the bill.''
On the other hand, since the ruling party is in the minority in the House of Councilors, the opposition parties will have a certain degree of control. Based on the opposition's demands, it was decided that the deliberations would be carried out by a special committee. The special committee can deliberate without being bound by regular days. It is also possible to request answers from Cabinet members other than Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama, who is in charge of the bill. A senior Komeito official said, ``The battle is in the House of Councilors.''
The ruling party is four seats short of a majority in the House of Councilors. Although the Japanese Conservative Party, which has two seats, has endorsed the bill, it is not expected that it will pass. The ruling party is expected to make full-fledged efforts to incorporate opposition parties, keeping in mind Komei and national democracy.
