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2008 January 30 - February 5 TOP3 [POLITICS]

Ruling bloc withdraws stopgap bill; JCP plays leading role in safeguarding parliamentary democracy: Shii

Under the mediation of the House of Representatives Speaker and the House of Councilors President, the ruling parties on January 30 came to agree with the opposition parties to withdraw the stopgap bill to extend for two more months the provisional law to levy a higher gasoline tax rate.

The agreement between the ruling and opposition parties stated that concerning the budget-related bills a certain conclusion shall be reached within the current fiscal year on condition that a thorough discussion, including public hearings, takes place and that the stopgap bill shall be withdrawn.

Japanese Communist Party Secretariat Head Ichida Tadayoshi at a press conference said, “This agreement is highly significant in that it has prevented Diet deliberations from turning into a mere formality.”

“We also think it a matter of course that a responsible decision will be reached as a result of a thorough Diet discussion. For this reason, the JCP has made such a reasonable proposal in meetings among the opposition parties and between the ruling and opposition parties. I am convinced that in reaching an agreement among the opposition parties in particular, our proposal has played an important role,” Ichida said.

Earlier in the day, the ruling parties rejected the opposition parties’ proposal on the grounds that it will not ensure that the vote on the budget-related bills will take place before the end of the current fiscal year. The ruling bloc forcibly passed the stopgap bill through House of Representatives committees. The opposition parties, however, requested the House Speaker to mediate using the opposition parties’ proposal as the basis. The ruling parties finally came to agree on the mediation plan. Although the ruling parties initially planned to hold the House of Representatives plenary session on that day to ram through the stopgap bill, the session was not convened.

At the JCP Dietmembers’ Group meeting held later in the day, Chair Shii Kazuo stressed the significance of the agreement.

Firstly, Shii said, it is an unprecedented and remarkable achievement that the ruling parties were forced to withdraw a bill after they rammed it through it at the committee level. “The public opinion against the ruling parties’ outrageous act has had a major influence,” he said.

Secondly, the contents of the House Speaker’s mediation plan reflect what the JCP has consistently advocated. Explaining the process in which the JCP’s demand was agreed on by the opposition parties and later agreed on by the ruling and opposition parties under mediation, Shii said, “The JCP showed the way to safeguard parliamentary democracy, and all parties finally came to agree on it. The JCP has played a leading role in this process.”

Thirdly, Shii stressed the importance of the Diet discussion calling for a fundamental change in the Liberal Democratic Party policies starting from the urgent demands of the public.