April 25, 2025
TOKYO – Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who also serves as the president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, held debates with opposition leaders for the first time during the current Diet session on Wednesday.
While the LDP and opposition parties, including the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, the Japan Innovation Party and the Democratic Party for the People, debated such issues as U.S. tariffs, it was conspicuous that the opposition camp did not go on the offensive against Ishiba.
The tariff issue seems to have created a kind of temporary truce to political maneuvering in Japan.
Tribute diplomacy
“We made thorough preparations even before President [Donald] Trump took office. This is not an ad hoc team. It’s the best possible one,” Ishiba said.
Ishiba made this remark in response to criticism from CDPJ President Yoshihiko Noda, who said during the debates, “Although you’ve called the [tariff] situation a national crisis, the preparations are way too insufficient.”
Noda also pointed to the fact that Ryosei Akazawa, minister in charge of economic revitalization, wore a red hat with Trump’s political slogan on it during their meeting at the White House.
“He crossed the line,” Noda said. “That gave the impression of tribute diplomacy.”
Ishiba responded calmly, “When considering [Japan’s] national interests, we did everything we could.”
During debates with JIP co-representative Seiji Maehara and DPFP leader Yuichiro Tamaki, the prime minister also maintained composure when answering their questions.
Approval ratings seen bottoming out
While Ishiba was struggling to manage his minority government, he found himself in a difficult situation after it was revealed in mid-March that he had distributed gift vouchers to LDP lawmakers. There was even speculation of his resignation among LDP members.
However, since the issue of tariffs announced by Trump has come up, the gift voucher scandal has subsided in the face of what Ishiba described as a “national crisis.”
The CDPJ was making arrangements to hold a meeting in mid-April of the House of Representatives Deliberative Council on Political Ethics, which Ishiba had indicated his intention to attend. But the meeting was postponed.
The tariff issue may affect the opposition camp’s decisions regarding a no-confidence motion against the Cabinet. The CDPJ’s basic strategy is to submit a no-confidence motion before the current Diet session ends on June 22.
However, Noda indicated his mixed feelings, saying on a radio program on Wednesday: “I wonder if it would be irresponsible to create a political vacuum [by having Ishiba step down or dissolving the lower house] in the middle of a national crisis. I can’t make a definite move.”
Opinion surveys by media outlets have indicated that approval ratings for the Ishiba Cabinet have bottomed out at around 30%.
There is a growing number of members in the LDP who believe the ruling party will go into the House of Councillors election with the current Ishiba Cabinet.
A confidential survey conducted by the LDP in mid-April showed the LDP would win 47 seats in the upper house election if the Cabinet stayed. The number of seats is five fewer than the current 52, but together with its ruling coalition partner Komeito, the ruling camp could maintain a majority of seats, including uncontested seats.
Parties talk gasoline tax
The leaders of the three opposition parties — the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, the Japan Innovation Party and the Democratic Party for the People — used their respective strengths to press Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba during the first debates among party leaders in the current Diet session on Wednesday.
CDPJ President Yoshihiko Noda devoted most of his time to tariff issues. Noda stressed the importance of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
“The means to expand free trade depends on how the TPP is utilized,” he said.
Initially, there was a plan within the CDPJ to put together the party’s policy on consumption tax reduction before the debates and present it to the prime minister. However, this was not realized due to a lack of consensus within the party.
Noda, apparently concerned that his party might be criticized by the public if he only focused on attacking the administration, concluded his question by saying, “I’d like to continue to make proposals – not to drag down – but to urge [the Cabinet to take action].”
JIP co-representative Seiji Maehara focused on foreign and security policy and constitutional revision, which are topics that are important to him.
“I think we should take a hard look at [the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty],” Maehara said.
He also stressed that constitutional revision “should be tackled as an important theme of national politics” and urged Ishiba to not just talk about it, but to act on it.
DPFP leader Yuichiro Tamaki spoke about economic measures, keeping in mind the House of Councillors election this summer.
Tamaki asked for a clear timetable of when the provisional gasoline tax rate would be abolished, which is top priority for his party.
“If we take and distribute [money from taxes], there will be waste, so let’s cut taxes,” Tamaki said regarding the government’s measures to lower gasoline prices in response to high prices. “Both the cost of logistics and prices will go down, and everyone will be happy.”
