Liberal Democratic Party Komeito It is unclear whether it will be possible to reach a discussion on measures against soaring crude oil prices.

At the party leaders' meeting on the 4th, the Liberal Democratic Party, Komeito, and the Democratic Party for the People agreed to proceed with discussions on measures to counter the sharp rise in crude oil prices.

Talks are expected to begin next week, but there are negative opinions within the ruling party regarding the unfreezing of the so-called "trigger clause" required by the Democratic Party for the People, and it is unclear whether there will be a deal.

On the 4th, Prime Minister Kishida, the president of the Liberal Democratic Party, met with Komeito representative Yamaguchi and Democratic Party representative Tamaki.

At the meeting, Mr. Tamaki requested that the "trigger clause", which suspends the taxation of the additional portion of the gasoline tax, be lifted as a countermeasure against the soaring crude oil price, and the three parties agreed to proceed with discussions in the future.

After the meeting, Prime Minister Kishida told reporters, "We take the Democratic Party for the People's support for the new fiscal year's budget very seriously and would like to continue the discussion."

The talks are expected to be held at the secretary-general level next week, and the Democratic Party for the People said that the unfreezing of the trigger clause would be a trade-off for approval of the new fiscal year's budget, and the House of Councilors decided to realize it by the time the budget was approved. I want to.

On the other hand, the Liberal Democratic Party and the Komeito Party have shown a stance of welcoming the compromise of the Democratic Party for the People, saying that the range of policy consensus building will expand, and especially within the Liberal Democratic Party, they will positively accept the request with a view to strengthening cooperation in the future. There is an opinion that it should be.

However, regarding the unfreezing of the trigger clause, the ruling party is negative because the government has just launched additional measures such as raising subsidies to oil wholesale companies and it is necessary to amend the law to realize it. It is unclear how far the three parties will be able to come to terms with each other, while the situation in Ukraine and the outlook for crude oil prices are uncertain.