Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi (right) and Nippon Ishin no Kai leader. Reuters Yonhap News. 

The reduction in the number of parliamentary seats, a condition accepted by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in her effort to bring the Japan Innovation Party into a new coalition government, is emerging as a key issue in Japanese politics.

According to Japanese media on the 24th, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the Nippon Ishin no Kai have agreed in principle to submit and pass a bill during the current extraordinary Diet session to reduce the number of House of Representatives (lower house) members by 10%.

The House of Representatives currently has 465 seats, and a 10% reduction would mean cutting 40 to 50 seats.

The Nippon Ishin no Kai emphasized that the LDP must accept the reduction in the number of parliamentary seats, a political reform measure, as a condition for coalition talks. Prime Minister Takaichi, facing a crisis after Komeito declared an end to its cooperative relationship with the LDP, accepted this without sufficient internal party discussion.

The Nippon Ishin no Kai is pressuring Prime Minister Takaichi, stating that if the bill to reduce the number of parliamentary seats is not submitted during the extraordinary Diet session, which ends on December 17th of this year, they may withdraw from the coalition, even after the Takaichi cabinet is formed.

However, opposition parties are repeatedly raising cautious arguments regarding this matter, according to the Yomiuri Shimbun.

Within the LDP and the Nippon Ishin no Kai, a proposal to reduce proportional representation seats by about 50 is being discussed. If this scenario becomes a reality, smaller and medium-sized opposition parties with fewer seats and less competitive district candidates would be hit hard.

The Yomiuri Shimbun reported that their analysis of the impact on the number of seats per party, if only proportional representation seats were reduced by 50, indicated a 9% decrease for the LDP and a 6% decrease for the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party.

In contrast, the estimated reduction rates for smaller and medium-sized parties were 25% for Komeito, 33% for Reiwa Shinsengumi, and 67% for the Party to Protect the People from NHK. The number of seats for these parties is less than 25.

Tetsuo Saito, leader of Komeito, criticized the LDP and Nippon Ishin no Kai at a party meeting the previous day, stating, "Only the ruling party is discussing matters concerning the foundation of democracy." Sohei Kamiya, leader of the right-wing Party to Protect the People from NHK, also criticized it, saying, "Emerging forces will be crushed."

Koichi Hagiuda, acting secretary-general of the LDP, also expressed a cautious stance on a YouTube program the previous day, stating, "Each political party must participate to create the greatest common denominator," suggesting that the discussion should not be rushed.

The Yomiuri Shimbun commented, "It appears that negotiations between the ruling and opposition parties will inevitably face difficulties," and explained, "It is difficult to predict the early reduction demanded by the Nippon Ishin no Kai."

However, Prime Minister Takaichi is showing enthusiasm by considering the establishment of a new organization within the party to discuss the reduction of parliamentary seats.

According to Kyodo News, Prime Minister Takaichi is considering creating a "Political Reform Headquarters" directly under the party leader and appointing former Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato as its head.

The LDP already has an organization called the "Election System Research Council" that deals with the electoral system, including the number of seats. However, Ichiro Aizawa, chairman of the research council, has publicly opposed reducing the number of parliamentary seats.

This has led to interpretations that Prime Minister Takaichi intends to push for the reduction of parliamentary seats after establishing a new organization.

The Mainichi Shimbun analyzed, "In the LDP, there is also a proposal to replace Chairman Aizawa," and commented, "If he is replaced, it could be seen as a de facto dismissal, and the ripple effect could spread."

Yonhap News