When a newly established Lower House committee on political reform gathered for the first time on Friday to lay the groundwork for a revision of the Political Funds Control Law, a sizeable gap between the various parties was readily apparent.
Ruling and opposition parties will have less than two months to find some common ground on a reform, after a large-scale slush fund scandal engulfed the Liberal Democratic Party and rocked the nation's political center of Nagatacho. The ongoing session of parliament is slated to conclude on June 23.
Some of the larger gaps revolve around penalties for lawmakers involved in illegal practices.