Japan Press Weekly

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2016 November 23 - 29 TOP3 [POLITICS]

Ruling coalition again uses its majority force to steamroller ‘pension cuts bill’ through Diet

The ruling coalition on November 25 at a House of Representatives Welfare Committee meeting unilaterally ended discussions on the so-called “pension cuts bill” and took a vote despite fierce protests from opposition parties including the Japanese Communist Party.

Later on the same day, JCP Diet Policy Commission Chair Kokuta Keiji and representatives of three other opposition parties met with Speaker of the House of Councilors Oshima Tadamori and said that the forcible passage is unacceptable as the discussion on the bill was insufficient.

At a press conference held after the meeting, Kokuta criticized the ruling Liberal Democratic and Komei parties for taking the vote immediately after the interpellation of unsworn witnesses. In the first place, Kokuta went on to say, the bill is designed to cut public pension benefits as much as possible and will cause financial difficulties to many pensioners.

Democratic Party Diet Affairs Committee Chair Yamai Kazunori pointed out that only 19 hours were spent on the discussion on the bill before the vote was taken. He also stated that just three weeks ago, the ruling coalition rammed the TPP ratification bill through the Diet committee. The second steamrolling through of the vote within a month clearly indicates that the Abe government thinks light of parliamentary procedures, Yamai said.

The ruling parties seek to push the pension cuts bill and the TPP ratification bill through the Diet by extending the current Diet session which is slated to go into recess on November 30. The four opposition parties are determined to keep working to kill the two bills.


Past related article:
> Diet starts discussing pension cuts bill [November 2, 2016]