Japanese PM to hold first Diet debate

Japan holds its Diet debate today.

A diet debate between the ruling Japanese political party, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), and opposition parties will be held today for the first time in three years. It will be the first diet debate for the current PM Fumio Kishida, aswell as for opposition leader Kenta Izumi. The bulk of the debate is expected to focus on two topics: a bill to revise the Political Funds Control Act and the oppositions’ motion of no-confidence against the Kishida cabinet

Following the LDP’s slush fund scandal earlier this year, where several high ranking LDP politicians were indicted for the misuse of political campaign funds procured from fundraising events, there have been calls from the public and opposition parties to abolish political fundraising parties. While the LDP’s political reform headquarters has commissioned a report for the rectifications of the missing funds, they have not gone as far as abolishing the fundraising events. Overall, given the fragility in the current leadership of the LDP, failure to make political concessions to the opposition, like the revision of the Political Funds Control Act, will likely result in the definitive passing of the motion of non-confidence against Mr Kishida.