DPJ, LDP, and Komei are all co-conspirators: JCP Shii

Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo stated on June 28 that the Democratic, Liberal Democratic, and Komei parties are co-conspirators in railroading through the Lower House a bill to increase the consumption tax rate.

“While the DPJ has broken its promise, the LDP and Komei have together pressured it do so. In that sense, they are co-conspirators,” said Shii at a press conference.

The ruling DPJ and the opposition LDP are bickering over how to deal with 57 DPJ members of the House of Representatives who voted against the consumption tax hike bill.

LDP House of Councilors policy commission chair Waki Masashi had talks with his DPJ counterpart Ikeguchi Shuji in the Diet building on June 28. Waki told Ikeguchi that the LDP will cooperate with the DPJ to swiftly open Upper House deliberation on “unified reform” related bills if DPJ senior officials make a verbal apology over causing the confusion during the passage of the consumption tax hike bill in the Lower House.

The largest opposition party initially called for punishment of the 57 DPJ parliamentarians as a condition to cooperate with the DPJ for swift deliberation and smooth passage in the Upper House.

The LDP has lowered its demands apparently based on the assumption that if the enactment of the bill is delayed, it may lose an opportunity to have the Noda Cabinet dissolve the Lower House for a general election by the last day of the current Diet session on September 8.