Japan Press Weekly

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2008 March 5 - 11 [POLITICS]

JCP calls for talks to normalize Diet proceeding

With the House of Councilors Budget Committee discussion up in the air for three days now (since March 4), Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo called on all parties and parliamentary groups to discuss breaking the stalemate to pave the way for a thoroughgoing discussion on a series of important bills.

At a news conference in the Diet on March 4, Shii criticized the ruling Liberal Democratic and Komei parties for railroading through the FY2008 budget bill in the House of Representatives on February 29.

“The task now is for the House of Councilors to discuss the key issues, including the high gas tax rate for road construction, the collision of the Maritime Self-Defense Force Aegis destroyer with a fishing boat, and the growing poverty rate as well as the widening social gaps,” Shii said.

Shii said, “The ruling parties are reneging on the acceptance by all parties of the mediation by the House of Representatives Speaker and the House of Councilors President calling for a thorough parliamentary discussion. The ruling parties must carry out the mediation.”

“The LDP-Komei bloc is allowing the House of Councilors Budget Committee chair (LDP) to unilaterally declare the meeting open for three days without consensus, while the DPJ, the House of Councilors majority party, is refusing to attend the committee meeting on the grounds that the committee must not hold its meeting at least for the next week. Both the LDP and the DPJ are neglecting to fulfill their responsibility for paving the way to resume parliamentary deliberations,” Shii added.

He also pointed out that the ruling parties and opposition DPJ are involved in party politics to halt all parliamentary proceedings. “This way of politicking cannot be embraced by the public,” Shii said and demanded that the House of Councilors Budget Committee meeting be opened without delay.

JCP Diet Policy Committee Chair Kokuta Keiji called on the Liberal Democratic, Komei, and Democratic parties to hold a meeting of Diet Policy chairs of all parties to break the deadlock.

At a meeting of the opposition parties’ House of Councilors policy committee chairs, the JCP’s Inoue Satoshi called on the DPJ to work actively as a majority party in the House of Councilors to help normalize the budget committee proceedings as early as possible.
- Akahata, March 7, 2008