Junior coalition partner urges LDP to push through lower-house seat-cut bill

Marking the first anniversary of the Japan Innovation Party's coalition with the Liberal Democratic Party, Osaka Governor Hirofumi Yoshimura reiterated the junior partner's drive to pass a bill cutting 45 seats from the House of Representatives. He urged Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's LDP to "steel itself" and see the measure through the ongoing Diet session, while denying any plan to use a coalition exit as leverage.

Yoshimura highlighted policy wins such as a law establishing a secondary capital for emergencies, but noted the seat-cut proposal has failed in both Diet meetings since Takaichi took office, even though the coalition holds a supermajority in the lower house but falls short in the Senate. The bill would automatically remove 45 proportional-representation seats if left unresolved a year after its enactment, a clause that previously triggered an opposition boycott. The extraordinary session is scheduled to continue through Dec. 12, and Yoshimura said bolstering support for the prime minister is essential for the partnership's stability.