【日曜にちよう討論とうろん】与野党よやとう幹部かんぶ 実現じつげん目指めざす政策せいさく・党勢とうせい拡大かくだいで意見いけん

Following the House of Councillors election, executives from nine ruling and opposition parties appeared on NHKs Sunday Debate program and exchanged opinions on policies they aim to implement in the future and ways to expand their party influence.

LDP Election Strategy Committee Chairman Kihara said, There is no magic wand to expand support; we must move each policy forward one by one.

We have finally entered an era where we are escaping deflation and prices are gradually rising, moving into a period of growth.

How to keep this going is important.

The starting point is wage increases and increased investment, and it is especially important to achieve this in regional areas. By firmly implementing such policies, we want to deliver the benefits to the younger generation as well, he said.

The Constitutional Democratic Party’s acting representative, Okushi, said, “We have consistently called attention to issues such as working conditions during the employment ice age and doubling the budget for children and child-rearing, but there has been a tendency not to present policies for the younger generation as a comprehensive package. Going forward, it will be necessary to clearly present such policies.”

We would like to take the lead in discussions as the largest opposition party and work towards realizing the abolition of the provisional gasoline tax rate and the reduction of the consumption tax rate, he said.

Secretary-General Iwaya of Nippon Ishin no Kai said, Since we have established forums for discussions with the ruling parties on social security and education, we want to continue these efforts and steadily produce results.

On the other hand, the ruling party has lost its majority in the House of Councillors, so if the opposition unites, they can achieve results.

Since it has become possible to implement policies from both sides, I would like to approach this on a case-by-case basis.

The acting chairman of the Election Strategy Committee of the Democratic Party for the People, Asano, said, The starting point is policy, and what matters is making convincing arguments from the perspective of everyday life and voters, as well as the substance of the information provided to support those arguments.

It is necessary to provide a thorough and careful explanation, including the background.

Now that so many parties have come to the forefront in the political scene, isnt it necessary to adopt an attitude of resolution rather than confrontation? he said.

Komeitos Election Strategy Committee Chairman Miura said, Its important to steadily deliver results with sincerity.

The purpose of politics is stability, peace, and a tangible sense of economic growth.

There are also voices saying that the Liberal Democratic Party, with which we are in coalition, is not saying what needs to be said, and I want to continue taking on the challenge of making such efforts more visible.

Ms. Mizuho Umemura of the Sanseito party said, I think there are parties we can cooperate with on policies regarding foreigners.

It is also necessary to put pressure on the ruling party regarding tax cuts.

Because a hung parliament is occurring in both the House of Representatives and the House of Councillors, we will implement policies on a case-by-case basis.

Secretary-General Takai of Reiwa Shinsengumi said, The forces calling for the abolition or reduction of the consumption tax have become the majority, but when I listen to the party leaders after the election, their tone is already weakening. It makes me wonder if it was just for the election.

We will persistently advocate for the abolition of the consumption tax, which is our partys principle, he said.

Communist Party Secretary General Koike said, The challenge is to strengthen the partys own capabilities, but at the same time, the content of our message is also an issue.

We must fundamentally change the LDPs politics, which has continued to raise the consumption tax while cutting taxes for the wealthy, and it is most important to clearly appeal for this.

Secretary General Arimoto of the Japan Conservative Party said, We just want to make Japan richer and stronger.

I have been appealing to end the lost 30 years as soon as possible.

We received a certain level of support by pledging tax cuts, so we must implement them as soon as possible, he said.