Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba (President of the Liberal Democratic Party) held a press conference at the party headquarters on the 28th and spoke about the government management after the 50th Lower House election scheduled for the 27th. After announcing his intention to continue as prime minister, he said about the government framework, "At this point, we do not envision a coalition. We will closely consult with other parties." Regarding the supplementary budget bill for fiscal 2024 that he directed to compile and exceed the national spending of about 13 trillion yen for fiscal 2023, he said, "We will adopt and implement excellent measures across party lines."
All seats in the Lower House election were finalized on the morning of the 28th, with the Liberal Democratic Party and the New Komeito Party forming a coalition government lacking a majority (233 seats). This is the first time since the 2009 Lower House election that the Liberal Democratic Party has lost its majority. At a press conference, Prime Minister Ishiba said, "We must quickly decide on replacements for the unsuccessful cabinet members." The basic concept for the signature policy of "regional revitalization" will be finalized by the end of this year. The Disaster Management Agency, which ordered preparations for the establishment, said, "We will set up a preparatory office and conduct specific discussions."
The supplementary budget for each fiscal year has provided public works-related expenditures for “five-year acceleration measures for disaster prevention, mitigation, and national resilience.” By the end of the year, discussions on tax and fiscal issues, including the initial budget for fiscal year 2025, will be heated. There are many policy issues that require political decisions, including tax increases to strengthen defense capabilities, including the construction of facilities that have been postponed. However, the political situation has become fluid due to the rise of the opposition party. The current situation is that even if the Prime Minister is elected in a special parliamentary nomination election convened within 30 days of the House of Representatives election, the government will certainly become unstable.
On the supplementary budget bill, there is a calm view within the government that the government will only ask for what is necessary. “Preparations are underway,” said a senior government official at a government agency, but cited “what will happen with the government and what will happen in the negotiations with the Ministry of Finance” as the issue. Each side has emphasized disaster prevention measures in its commitments and also has an understanding of how to deal with aging infrastructure. Looking back at the 2009 House of Representatives election that led to the change of government, the executive said, “Public projects are not as heavily criticized as they were then.” The government has also been increasingly concerned about increasing public works-related costs slightly in the original budget.
There are different opinions on building national resilience. A chairman of the Provincial Construction Industry Association said: "No matter what happens with the government, we must carry out horizontal regional protection policies." There are also executives from other associations calling for local-level discussions on how to solve the political problem.
Some in the government believe that “it is necessary to increase the supplementary budget to ensure the workload” (a local agency executive). There are opinions inside and outside the government that the mid-term implementation plan to replace the five-year acceleration measures will be approved by the Cabinet in fiscal year 2024, so the future implementation direction is once again attracting attention.
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