Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is buckling up for bumpy parliament proceedings as the opposition party has taken over the Lower House’s steering wheel –– or more precisely, the Budget Committee chair.
Former Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan parliamentary affairs chief Jun Azumi was formally appointed to the post at the Lower House plenary session on Wednesday.
“I would like to create deliberative politics that reach conclusions from deep discussions on the content of each policy while bringing opposition parties all together,” Azumi said on Monday.
In a rare move, the ruling coalition conceded the all-important post to the opposition after the Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner, Komeito, failed to secure a majority in last month’s general election.
With the CDP occupying the post, the ruling coalition will be unable to force the Lower House to vote on a bill to bypass opposition and fast-track proceedings, or shield Ishiba from questioning during televised Budget Committee meetings attended by all Cabinet ministers.
As chair, Azumi will have the authority to decide the committee session schedule, moderate parliamentary debates and put deliberations to a vote –– privileges the LDP would have rather retained to pass budget bills.
The CDP is likely to increase the number of deliberations under the authority of the committee chair and intensify its offensive on such topics as political reform and Diet reform, in addition to clarification of the LDP's "slush fund" scandal, which has tanked the public's trust in the party.
The opposition’s line of questioning traditionally focuses on the ruling coalition’s scandals.
The government aims to open the next Diet session in the coming weeks and pass the supplementary budget by the end of 2024. After the New Year's holidays, budget sessions on the next fiscal year, which begins in April 2025, will commence.
Concessions will likely be inevitable for parliament to function. The ruling and opposition parties will have no choice but to discuss in advance and compile a budget that satisfies both sides, or to amend and pass the budget based on the opposition's demands during deliberations.
On Wednesday, parliament also formalized the appointment of CDP Lower House members to the other seven chairs, which includes the constitution panel, political reform committee, and judicial affairs committee.
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