With the loss of the ruling coalition’s Upper House majority in Sunday’s election, the Liberal Democratic Party-led minority government faces increasing pressure to decide whether to abolish a provisional gasoline tax as demanded by opposition parties, which now hold a majority in both chambers of parliament.
On Friday, the parliamentary affairs chiefs of five opposition parties — the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDP), Nippon Ishin no Kai, the Democratic Party for the People, Reiwa Shinsengumi and the Japanese Communist Party — confirmed they would introduce a bill to abolish the tax to be taken up during an extraordinary session of parliament, which is set to take place between Aug. 1 and 5.
That came after the policy chiefs of eight opposition parties — including Sanseito, the Conservative Party of Japan, and the Social Democratic Party — agreed to submit the bill as early as possible.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.