The Liberal Democratic Party gained the upper hand this week in a battle to protect corporate and group donations, driving a wedge between the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and the opposition Democratic Party for the People while blaming the CDP for botched negotiations.

“It’s the CDP’s fault that the committee couldn’t convene,” Shinjiro Koizumi, secretary-general of the LDP’s political reform headquarters, told reporters on Thursday, deflecting blame for missing the deadline to wrap up talks on corporate and group donations by March 31, the last day of fiscal 2024.

The LDP has convinced Komeito and the DPP to lift constraints on party branches, as initially proposed, allowing them to accept endowments from companies and industry groups provided they submit and publish political funds reports online.

In return, the LDP conceded to lowering the threshold for disclosure of donor companies from ¥10 million ($68,509) to ¥50,000 a year.

The three parties clinched the deal on Monday hours after the CDP refused to hold a vote on bills presented by itself and the LDP, insisting on waiting for Komeito and the DPP to formally submit their own to the Lower House.

“It’s not that we couldn’t reach a conclusion. Actually, the one conclusion we came to at the end of March was that (the CDP’s) bill to ban (corporate and group donations) couldn’t garner support,” said Koizumi, calling on the CDP to either get on board with the LDP, Komeito and the DPP or accept defeat.

The LDP, the biggest recipient of corporate and group donations –– it raked in approximately ¥2.3 billion in 2023, or 10% of its income –– is unapologetically against any ban, which the CDP argues is necessary to end financial scandals in politics.

Advocating alone for what the opposition has described as “a breeding ground for plutocracy,” ahead of an Upper House election this summer, would have put another dent in the LDP’s reputation.

CDP leader Yoshihiko Noda, a former prime minister, told reporters on Friday that his party is prepared to meet with Komeito and the DPP for talks “revolving around a ban” because it “already knows the LDP’s stance on “fake transparency.”

Partnering with the DPP gave the LDP much-needed momentum against the CDP this week, not to mention the votes to pass legislation.

In contrast to Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s dwindling approval ratings, the DPP’s numbers have defied the gravity of leader Yuichiro Tamaki’s admission of an extramarital affair in November — which resulted in a three-month suspension that has now ended — and the party’s failure to deliver its pet policy of raising the tax-free income threshold from ¥1.03 million annually to ¥1.78 million.

In a poll conducted by Nikkei and TV Tokyo between March 21 and 23, the DPP was the most popular party among voters age 39 or younger, and the second-most popular party for voters of all ages after the LDP.

How the ruling coalition and the DPP navigate discussions on corporate and group donations will be a key focus for the remainder of the current parliamentary session, which runs through June 22.

“As long as (the CDP) continues to herald a ban (on corporate and group donations), their proposal won’t become law,” Koizumi said.