As the political slush fund scandal that has shaken the ruling Liberal Democratic Party drags on, debates on political reform will likely dominate the second half of the current parliamentary session now that the ¥112.57 trillion ($744 billion) budget has cleared both chambers.
From April, lawmakers will concentrate on overhauling the current regulations on political funding. Amid growing political disenchantment, ruling and opposition parties are anxious to outline a more ambitious blueprint for reform to raise their profile among voters.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who is also the LDP president, has expressed his eagerness to revise the political funds law in the current session of parliament, slated to end on June 23.