3 Parties Confirm Plan to Draft Bill on Reducing Lower House Seats by Mid-November

The Liberal Democratic Party, the Japan Innovation Party, and the Democratic Party for the People have reached a consensus to reduce 31 seats in the House of Representatives. At their first working-level meeting, the three political parties agreed to draft a bill by mid-November to quickly implement their deal. Former Justice Minister Keisuke Suzuki emphasized the need to expedite the legislation creation.

DPFP acting leader Motohisa Furukawa stressed the importance of adhering strictly to the agreement without making any alterations. The three parties aim to submit the bill by mid-November, around a month before the current Diet session concludes on December 12. The most crucial aspect among the eight agreed points is designing a unified candidate list system, which would allow multiple parties to field candidates jointly in proportional representation blocs.

This system, proposed by the DPFP, could foster cooperation among opposition parties. DPFP Secretary General Kazuya Shimba stated that working-level officials would handle the specifics of the discussions, aiming to determine whether cooperation will be limited to two parties or extended to a broader coalition. Another area of discussion will be reducing forfeited candidacy deposits for proportional representation candidates.

The agreement also calls for reviewing government subsidies for political parties when lawmakers defect from one party to another. Possible measures include excluding defecting lawmakers from being counted when calculating party subsidies or reducing the subsidy amount. However, given the time required to design the system, the provision may be left for future consideration.

Working-level officials are expected to hold additional talks next week to review a draft of the bill.