Koichiro Gemba, the ruling Democratic Party of Japan's Policy Research Committee chairman, expressed willingness to undergo tough negotiations with the opposition camp to pass critical bills, now that his party faces a divided Diet.
Gemba, who doubles as state minister in charge of civil service reform in the Cabinet of Prime Minister Naoto Kan, told reporters during an interview Friday that one of his ultimate goals was to pass a bill revamping the civil service system during next year's ordinary Diet session.
"I expect persistent negotiations will become necessary" in realizing this goal, he said. The bill aims to cut roughly ¥1.1 trillion, or one-fifth of current personnel costs, by, among other steps, cutting the number of national public servants and limiting the number of new hires.