Latest news with #HiroshiMoriyama
Japan Times
5 days ago
- Business
- Japan Times
LDP to discuss governance plans after Upper House election, Moriyama says
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party will discuss how to best run the government after next month's House of Councillors election, as arranging a partial coalition would take time, Secretary-General Hiroshi Moriyama has said. "The most important thing is that we run the government as we listen to what each parliamentary group has to say on various issues," Moriyama said in an interview Thursday, when asked about the possibility of expanding the LDP-Komeito coalition after the July 20 Upper House election. Moriyama said that "arrangements take time" to forge a partial alliance under which the ruling camp asks opposition parties for cooperation on individual political issues. "We need to consider whether we will be able to continue such a framework," he added. During this year's ordinary parliament session, which ended on Sunday, the ruling coalition secured the passage of some bills through partial alliances. Regarding the Upper House election, Moriyama said, "We need to demonstrate honest politics at a time when the future is filled with uncertainties." Emphasizing the importance of sticking to policies that take responsibility for the future, he stated, "The focal point of the upcoming poll is whether people choose to pass burdens on to future generations or create a present with the future in mind." The LDP aims to build a strong economy with nominal gross domestic product of ¥1 quadrillion by 2040 and raise the average personal income by at least 50 pct from the current level, he said. At the same time, the party will support people's daily lives through planned cash handouts, he said. On opposition calls for a consumption tax cut, Moriyama said, "Our proposal (for the handouts) is the best option for people struggling right now." A consumption tax cut "would benefit low-income individuals less and higher earners more," Moriyama said. "Even if such a tax cut is decided in this autumn's extraordinary Diet session, the measure would not take effect until next April," he added. On his assessment of the administration of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who heads the LDP, Moriyama said that Ishiba has managed to steer the government although the LDP-Komeito coalition is a minority in the House of Representatives, the all-important lower chamber. Moriyama said that the administration realized the enactment of the fiscal 2025 budget in time for the start of the fiscal year after discussions with some opposition parties on individual issues. "I think that the administration fulfilled its responsibilities to the people as it managed to reach a conclusion on each issue," he said. On the possible timing of a Cabinet reshuffle and an LDP executive roster revamp, Moriyama said, "I don't expect such shakeups to take place before the Upper House election because as we all know that is just unfeasible." He added that it will be up to Ishiba to decide when to implement reshuffles after the election.
The Mainichi
11-06-2025
- Business
- The Mainichi
Japan ruling bloc aiming for 30,000-40,000 yen cash handouts per person
TOKYO -- Japan's government and ruling coalition parties are considering individual cash handouts of around 30,000-40,000 yen (some $206-$275) in response to fast-rising consumer prices, the Mainichi Shimbun has learned. Higher amounts are being considered for those with low incomes, but the exact amount will be decided once funding resources such as the tax revenue surplus are fully known, multiple ruling coalition and government sources revealed June 10. After a cash handout initiative was shelved in April amid criticism from opposition parties who called it "pork-barrel spending" and lackluster public opinion ratings in media polls, the government and ruling parties are mulling a plan to give higher cash benefits to low-income earners. The amount of benefits will depend on national tax revenues to be determined in July and how progressively they will favor those with low incomes, but one or more sources connected with the government indicated that 40,000 yen appears to be the baseline. Komeito, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP)'s junior coalition partner, has advocated using "Myna Points," a government-run digital point system, to encourage spending and prevent the cash benefits from being saved. However, many in the LDP prefer direct cash payouts. Masaji Matsuyama, secretary-general of the LDP in the House of Councillors, said at a press conference on June 10, "Cash handouts are ideal to give fast support to people suffering from high prices." Both the LDP and Komeito policy chiefs are scheduled to discuss details such as the exact amount and method of distributing the benefits. Following Komeito's public announcement, the LDP also plans to include the benefit proposal in its campaign pledges for the July House of Councillors election. The secretary-generals for both parties, the LDP's Hiroshi Moriyama and Komeito's Makoto Nishida, held talks that day in Tokyo where they agreed to carry out measures such as cash handouts to counter rising prices. Tetsushi Sakamoto, LDP Diet Affairs Committee chief, who was present at the meeting, afterward told reporters, "We felt it wouldn't make sense not to return excess tax revenues to the public. This is a pledge for the upper house election." Nishida also stated at a press conference the same day that it would be "preferable" for the benefits to be distributed within the year.
10-06-2025
- Business
Ruling Bloc Election Pledges to Feature Benefits Program
News from Japan Jun 10, 2025 17:02 (JST) Tokyo, June 10 (Jiji Press)--Japan's ruling parties Tuesday agreed on plans to feature a benefits program in policy pledges for this summer's election for the House of Councillors, the upper chamber of parliament, as part of efforts to address inflation. The agreement was reached in a meeting among senior officials, including Hiroshi Moriyama, secretary-general of the Liberal Democratic Party, and Makoto Nishida, secretary-general of Komeito, the LDP's coalition partner. Under the program, the government is seen providing several tens of thousands of yen per person. The benefits may be provided in cash or My Number points to promote the use of My Number personal identification cards. Details such as the timing and possible income restrictions are set to be worked out later. LDP parliamentary affairs chief Tetsushi Sakamoto told reporters after the meeting that the government aims to "return increased tax revenue to the people through benefits." Sakamoto said that a consumption tax cut proposed by opposition parties would "lead to a significant decrease in tax revenue and take time." [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.] Jiji Press
Yomiuri Shimbun
10-06-2025
- Business
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Secretaries General of LDP, Komeito Agree to Issue Cash Handouts; ￥1 Quadrillion GDP by 2040 Sought by Ishiba
The Yomiuri Shimbun Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks at the Prime Minister's Office on Monday. As a measure against high prices, the secretaries general of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and coalition partner Komeito have agreed on providing cash handouts to the public, funding them through tax revenue, according to an LDP executive member who attended the meeting. LDP Secretary General Hiroshi Moriyama and his Komeito counterpart Makoto Nishida met to discuss the matter in Tokyo on Tuesday morning. The two parties intend to discuss details including the size of the handouts, when the provision should be started and whether to set an income limit for receiving them, at a later meeting with their policy research council chairpersons, among other members, also in attendance. 'As the public are struggling due to high prices, if tax revenue increases, we must find some way of returning the money to them,' Tetsushi Sakamoto, chairperson of the LDP's Diet Affairs Committee, who attended the meeting, told reporters. The LDP intends to include the provision of several tens of thousands of yen per capita in cash as a measure against high prices in its campaign pledges for this summer's House of Councillors election, according to senior party members. 'We would like to consider viable, immediately effective handouts,' said Seiji Kihara, chairperson of the LDP's Election Strategy Committee, in Shizuoka City on Monday. As a way to quickly issue the funds, a proposal has been floated to provide them through bank accounts linked to My Number identification cards. Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who is also LDP president, met with LDP party executives, including Moriyama and Policy Research Council Chairperson Itsunori Onodera, in the Diet building on Monday. There he instructed the executives to have raising Japan's nominal gross domestic product to ¥1 quadrillion by 2040 and an over 50% increase in the average income by that year be the party's top pledge for the upcoming election. The nominal GDP for fiscal 2024 was ¥616.9 trillion. 'I'd like to share a specific image of a strong economy with the public,' Ishiba told reporters at the Prime Minister's Office the same day.
Japan Today
03-06-2025
- Business
- Japan Today
Japan party execs bracing for possibility of Diet dissolution
Liberal Democratic Party Secretary General Hiroshi Moriyama holds a press conference at the party's headquarters in Tokyo on Tuesday. Political maneuvering intensified Tuesday amid suggestions by ruling party officials that a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's cabinet could increase the chances of him dissolving parliament for an election. Ruling party lawmakers left the door open for Ishiba to call a snap election in what appeared to be a warning to the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, the only force able to submit a no-confidence motion on its own. Tensions rose after a source close to the leadership quoted Ishiba as telling aides that dissolving the House of Representatives was "in sight," fueling speculation he may act before a no-confidence vote is put to the lower house, which the ruling coalition no longer controls. CDPJ leader Yoshihiko Noda, who has said the party will decide "from a broad perspective," said Tuesday that Ishiba's reported intention suggests the government and ruling coalition "do not mind creating a political vacuum" by dissolving the powerful chamber. "If that's the case, this will be one factor" for the CDPJ to determine whether a motion is necessary, Noda told a meeting of fellow members. Speculation has grown that the CDPJ may forgo submitting a no-confidence motion after reaching an agreement with the ruling coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party and the Komeito party on a key element of pension reforms. Under the Constitution, if a no-confidence motion is approved, the prime minister must dissolve the lower house, or the Cabinet must resign within 10 days. Ishiba's minority government is scrambling to reverse a surge in rice prices driven largely by a poor harvest while also trying to persuade U.S. President Donald Trump to roll back higher tariffs on products from Japan, a longtime U.S. ally. "If Mr. Noda aims to realize a change of government, his party should submit a no-confidence motion," Yuichiro Tamaki, who heads the Democratic Party for the People, told a press conference. Asked if the DPP would jointly submit one with the CDPJ, Tamaki said, "We will consider (the possibility) depending on the situation." If the 465-member lower house is dissolved, it would mark the second general election in a year, following the October vote in which Ishiba's LDP and Komeito performed poorly. A separate election to replace half of the 248-member upper house is due this summer. Komeito, the junior coalition partner of the LDP, however, rejected the idea of holding the elections for both houses this summer. "We should seek voters' judgments for each house according to the length of the respective terms stipulated in the Constitution," Komeito Secretary General Makoto Nishida said at a press conference. Lower house members serve four-year terms unless the chamber is dissolved, while upper house members serve six years. LDP Secretary General Hiroshi Moriyama, a close aide to Ishiba, said the prime minister will make "the right decision at the right time," adding that the decision rests solely with him. © KYODO
