Editorial: As Japan enters new multiparty ruling era, cooperation needed to avert dysfunction

The Mainichi

5 days ago

Japanese politics has reached a major turning point. The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and Komeito suffered a crushing defeat in the July 20 House of Councillors election, losing their majority. For the first time since the LDP's founding in 1955, the party now finds itself a minority in both the upper and lower houses of the Diet.
The administration of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has now lost three major elections in a row: last year's House of Representatives election, the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election in June, and now the upper house race. Under normal circumstances, Ishiba would be expected to step down.
Nevertheless, at a July 21 press conference, the prime minister formally announced his intention to remain in office, citing the fact that the LDP is still the largest party in the upper chamber. But having failed to meet even the self-imposed benchmark of "maintaining a majority," it is unlikely the public will accept Ishiba's decision to stay on.
Ishiba's continued tenure lacks public support
Since the LDP became a minority in the lower house, the much-anticipated "deliberative Diet" -- a new model of politics based on open debate -- has failed to function.
Instead, the prime minister prioritized cobbling together enough votes to pass legislation by engaging in closed-door negotiations with opposition parties. There has been little sign of a commitment to deepening debate in an open Diet.
Meanwhile, Japan faces a mountain of challenges, from tariff negotiations with the U.S. administration of President Donald Trump and rising prices to a severe regional security environment. Political paralysis cannot be allowed.
To break the deadlock of a minority government, the administration must either continue its "partial coalition" approach -- maintaining the LDP-Komeito alliance while seeking cooperation from some opposition parties on individual policies -- or expand the coalition framework itself.
On the prospect of expanding the coalition, the prime minister stated, "I am not considering it at this time." In the first place, for opposition parties, cooperating with a coalition government that just suffered a major electoral defeat risks alienating their supporters. If Ishiba clings to power, expanding the coalition will become even more difficult. It may be time to select a new LDP president, refresh the party leadership, and seek new approaches to stabilize the government.
Following the upper house election, Japan has truly entered an era of "multiparty politics," in which no party can govern alone.
The rise of the Democratic Party for the People and Sanseito, which attracted voters seeking a break from LDP-Komeito rule, is emblematic of this shift. These parties skillfully used social media to broaden their support, especially among young people. Voter turnout in the upper house election constituencies reached 58.51%, more than 6 percentage points higher than in 2022.
By contrast, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDP), Nippon Ishin (the Japan Innovation Party), and the Japanese Communist Party either stagnated or lost seats. Like the LDP and Komeito, they were seen as part of the political establishment. The main opposition CDP in particular failed to become a unifying force.
A key concern in this new multiparty era is that political confusion could stall progress on important policies.
If parties focus too much on short-term "achievements," there is a risk that long-term challenges involving considerable burdens -- such as social security reform for an aging society and restoring fiscal health -- will be postponed.
Opposition parties bear heavy responsibility
In the most recent Diet session, with the Ishiba administration leading a minority government, the ruling parties were forced to accept some opposition demands -- such as free high school tuition and raising the income threshold for income tax -- in exchange for passing budgets and legislation.
Now that no party holds a majority in either house, the responsibility of opposition parties is even greater. They now have the numbers to effectively shape political decisions, and they must carefully set policy priorities and engage in sincere debate to achieve balanced consensus.
During the campaign, the opposition called for cutting or abolishing the consumption tax and scrapping the provisional gasoline tax. But if they continue to leave the question of funding to the ruling parties, they will not be fulfilling their responsibility to the public.
On long-term issues, it is also important to establish cross-party forums for discussion, free from partisan interests. If common ground can be found, it could lay the foundation for future coalition governments.
In 2012, the then-ruling Democratic Party of Japan and the LDP-Komeito coalition agreed on a comprehensive reform of taxes and social security, including a consumption tax hike. This should be used as a reference for cross-party initiatives.
Multiparty politics also reflects the diversification of public opinion. If the parties can create mechanisms for policy dialogue that reflect the voices of the people, it could be an opportunity to restore trust in politics.
Now is the time for both ruling and opposition parties to pool their wisdom and prevent political dysfunction.