January 30, 2025

Japanese Communist Party Secretariat Head Koike Akira on January 29 in his interpellation at the House of Councilors plenary session criticized Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru for prioritizing military expansion and support for big businesses in government spending and distorting government policies under the influence of corporate donations.

Koike claimed that in the Noto region which was battered by a double disaster (the massive earthquake in January and the record-breaking heavy rain in September) last year, many of the people affected, even now, cannot see a prospect of rebuilding their damaged homes. Referring to the existing grant system for supporting the reconstruction of disaster victims’ livelihoods, Koike said that this system is insufficient as it pays only three million yen in support grants for rebuilding completely destroyed houses. He demanded that the amount of grants be increased drastically and that the scope of the grant be expanded.

Koike stressed that in the government-draft budget for fiscal 2025, social welfare-related spending grew only by 1.5%, lower than the current inflation rate. He brought up the government plan to raise patients’ burden for high-cost medical expenses, such as for hospitalization. He called on PM Ishiba to withdraw the plan as it will impose higher co-payments on patients who suffer from serious illnesses, such as cancer and heart disease, and could force them to give up on continuing treatment. PM Ishiba turned his back on Koike’s demand.

Koike emphasized, “The government should cancel the huge military buildup in order to secure the budget needed to improve support for people’s livelihoods.” He urged that if asked by the U.S. Trump administration for an increase in Japan’s military spending to 3% of GDP, the government should refuse to accept this request. PM Ishiba in reply did not rule out a possibility of responding affirmatively to the Trump administration’s demand.

Stating that financial support for small- and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) is the key to realize higher wages for all workers, Koike requested that the government provide direct support to SMEs as done by prefectural governments. In this regard, he said that the most effective measure is to reduce the social insurance burden on SMEs. PM Ishiba replied that careful consideration is essential.

Koike noted that PM Ishiba, during the Liberal Democratic Party presidential election campaign, promised to introduce a nationwide across-the-board minimum wage system, and pushed Ishiba to fulfill his promise. Koike also called for lowering the consumption tax rate to 5% without delay and abolishing the consumption-tax-invoice system.

Koike argued that the government, in response to the demand of the Japan Business Federation (Keidanren), has implemented a policy to promote the use of nuclear energy, which works to suppress an increase in the share of renewables. He strongly demanded that corporate and organizational donations to political parties which distort policies be totally banned and that truth behind the LDP’s slush-fund scandal be fully disclosed.