For the second time in a week, leaders of the ruling alliance agreed Wednesday to cooperate in drafting a bill banning lawmakers from obtaining money through influence-peddling.
Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto, Social Democratic Party leader Takako Doi and New Party Sakigake chief Akiko Domoto also confirmed during a meeting that they plan to submit the anticorruption bill to the current Diet session and have it enacted by its close in June.
The meeting was arranged after the ruling bloc was shaken by an LDP panel's abrupt decision not to back the first agreement.
"Once an agreement is reached by the alliance, it should be carried out," Doi told reporters after the meeting. "Breaking the accord means breaking faith among the three parties."
Hashimoto remained almost silent throughout the meeting and simply nodded several times in response to Doi's comments, Domoto said.
The agreement came as the three parties were engulfed in turmoil following the LDP's reversal on whether to crack down on lawmakers who obtain money through influence-peddling.
The LDP panel said last Thursday that it would not accept the proposed law on the grounds that it would considerably limit lawmakers' political activities.
Even after Wednesday's agreement was reached, several panel members continued expressing opposition, saying the proposed law would only benefit investigators who could abuse their new power and try to arrest lawmakers.
However, senior party members formed a working group later in the day to discuss the details of the proposed legislation, including how to determine what constitutes illegal influence-peddling.
They also started discussing a possible link between the proposed law and the Law to Regulate Money Used for Political Activities.