The Japanese government plans to hold a special session of the parliament on November 11 and simultaneously conduct a prime minister election. The ruling party and opposition parties are engaged in fierce competition over political power and the position of prime minister.
At the beginning of this month, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba announced the dissolution of the Lower House and called for a snap election just 8 days after taking office. The outcome resulted in a major defeat for the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in the election, putting immense pressure on Ishiba to step down less than a month into his administration.
According to reports from Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK), on Wednesday, October 30, key officials from the ruling LDP and the largest opposition party, the Constitutional Democratic Party, held discussions on the agenda for the special parliamentary session.
The LDP presented a proposed schedule for the session, stating that considering diplomatic engagements, the session should last about four days.
Prime Minister Ishiba is scheduled to travel to South America in mid-November to attend an international conference and hold talks with the Chinese Communist Party leader, Xi Jinping.
The LDP also proposed that representatives from the Lower House hold a meeting on Friday, November 1, to discuss the specific agenda for the special parliamentary session.
The Constitutional Democratic Party accepted the proposal for the meeting and requested that the special parliamentary session thoroughly review pertinent matters, such as convening budget committee meetings and further discussions.
In Japan, the prime minister is not directly elected by the public but is chosen through a vote by party nominations and members of both houses of the parliament. Typically, the leader of the majority party in parliament assumes the role of prime minister.
Under the Japanese constitution, in the event of divergent results in the prime ministerial nomination election at the joint session of the two houses, a consultative body composed of members from both houses, called the Joint Committee, will engage in deliberations. If the Joint Committee fails to reach a consensus, the result of the Lower House election will be considered as the parliament’s decision.
As per the regulations, the special parliamentary session for the prime ministerial nomination election must be convened within 30 days after the Lower House election.
On Sunday, October 27, Japan held the Lower House election, where the ruling LDP led by Prime Minister Ishiba suffered a loss of 56 seats, securing only 191 seats.
The ruling coalition comprising the LDP and Komeito dropped from 279 seats before the election to 215 seats, falling below the majority threshold of 233 seats for the first time in 15 years. In order to continue governing, Ishiba expressed the intention to promptly engage in cross-party consultations.
The largest opposition party, the Constitutional Democratic Party, significantly increased its seats in the election from 98 to 148. The party is actively lobbying other opposition parties, aiming to secure cooperation for a change in government.
The leader of the Constitutional Democratic Party and former Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda called on other opposition parties to collaborate towards the common goal of “achieving political reform.” However, due to differing stances making consensus difficult, other parties are showing reluctance towards cooperation.
The second-largest opposition party, the Japan Innovation Party with 38 seats, is cautious in cooperating with the left-leaning Constitutional Democratic Party due to differences on diplomatic policy, security issues, and constitutional matters.
On Tuesday, October 29, the leader of the Innovation Party, Nobuyuki Maba, stated during a TV interview that he would not vote for Ishiba or Noda in the prime minister election in the parliamentary session. He emphasized that he would cast his vote for the candidate who best represents his party’s policies, regardless of party affiliation.
On Wednesday morning, the third-largest opposition party, the Democratic Party for the People with 28 seats, held a high-level meeting. The meeting endorsed the proposal put forward by the party leader, Yuichiro Tamaki, to vote for him in the prime minister election during the parliamentary session.
After the meeting, in a press conference, Tamaki expressed openness to the LDP’s call for unity and willingness to negotiate on the policies advocated by the Democratic Party for the People.