After a day of confusion, secretaries general of the ruling alliance agreed March 27 that their three parties will resume talks on a newly proposed legislative measure to crack down on influence-peddling.
SDP Secretary General Shigeru Ito and Sakigake Secretary General Hiroyuki Sonoda accepted an offer from their LDP counterpart, Koichi Kato, to withdraw a party decision to oppose the proposal. Kato also offered to apologize for troubling the ruling bloc's minor partners by breaking an earlier agreement on the issue.
The squabbling began Thursday when an LDP panel came out against the proposed legislation, arguing that it would considerably limit political activities. The decision came one day after a tripartite panel had agreed to work together to draft a relevant bill.