Ruling and opposition parties kicked off full-fledged negotiations Tuesday over a revision of the law on political funding after a week of debates in parliament failed to bridge existing gaps.
With a little over three weeks left before the ongoing session of parliament draws to a close on June 23, lawmakers from both sides of the aisle agreed to expedite discussions and clear the path for a formal approval in the Lower House.
However, as previous discussions have shown, lawmakers remain far apart on some contentious issues — namely the handling of corporate donations and fundraising parties — and whether they’ll be able to craft a bill that accommodates all the parties involved remains unclear.
”We will make every possible effort to pass the bill, working with Komeito and listening to the opinions of all opposition parties,” Liberal Democratic Party acting Secretary-General Hiroshi Kajiyama told reporters Tuesday. “I believe that’s the biggest task for the LDP in this session.”
The LDP remains adamant about keeping the mandatory reporting threshold for fundraising party tickets at ¥100,000 ($637), down from the current ¥200,000. The sales of event tickets represents a major source of income for the party and lowering it even further might provoke some resistance among its supporters.
The LDP’s insistence on that threshold has caused a rift in the ruling coalition, prompting the party to submit a bill without the backing of Komeito, its coalition partner of 25 years. Komeito — which has sought to distance itself from the LDP in recent months — has so far remained firm in its stance of bringing the figure down to ¥50,000.
However, with the aim of securing Komeito’s backing, the LDP is reportedly considering some concessions on another sensitive matter causing friction between the two parties — the handling of "funds for political activities."
While Komeito has called for full disclosure, so far the LDP has balked at the idea. Under the LDP's proposal, the party would need to provide general reports on the use of such funds only under certain conditions.
In a meeting of senior members of a committee on political reform Tuesday, Komeito requested that the LDP include provisions to review the current proposal in three years, Hirofumi Ryu of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDP) told reporters.
Any LDP concessions on another contentious point — the handling of corporate donations — remains unlikely at the moment.
Opposition parties have framed the ban on all corporate endowments to political parties as the centerpiece of their plan for political reform.
Representatives from five opposition groups met Tuesday and agreed to form a united front on this subject, as well as on the complete disclosure of the use of funds for political activities and the introduction of tougher penalties for lawmakers involved in wrongdoing.
Besides a joint bill presented last week with the Democratic Party for the People and Yushi no Kai, the CDP submitted its own proposal to abolish all fundraising parties starting from 2026, a stance that has put the party at odds with other opposition groups.
Last weekend, CDP executives were forced to cancel parties planned in advance to stave off public criticism of inconsistency.
Nippon Ishin no Kai, which submitted its own bill last week, has long advocated for the full-fledged abolition of all corporate donations, as well as a complete disclosure of all monetary endowments received by lawmakers.
So far the public seems unconvinced of the LDP’s commitment to reform.
A recent TV Tokyo-Nikkei Shimbun opinion poll found that 85% of respondents think that the bill submitted by the LDP won’t help prevent future legal infringements. The figure reached 80% even among LDP supporters.
Senior members of the committee will convene again on Wednesday to continue discussions.
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