House of Councilors plenary session: Representative questions begin, debate over political funding issue

On February 1st, representatives of each party began questioning Prime Minister Kishida's policy speech at a plenary session of the House of Councilors.

In response to the Constitutional Democratic Party's request for a special committee to be set up to clarify the whole issue regarding the political funding party of a faction of the Liberal Democratic Party, Prime Minister Kishida said, ``It is a matter for the Diet to decide,'' and that the ruling and opposition parties should The party expressed its intention to contribute if a forum for discussion is set up.

political funding issue

At the House of Councilors plenary session, the Liberal Democratic Party and the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan took questions.

Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan House of Councilors Chairman Mizuoka commented on the issue surrounding the LDP's faction's political funding party, saying, ``A ``slush fund member'' clearly deserves to resign as a member.What does it mean to not leave the party, be expelled, or resign? "The whole situation should be clarified through thorough discussions, including the establishment of a special committee."

In response, Prime Minister Kishida said, ``Institutional reform requires serious consultation with each party.The way the debate will proceed in the Diet is a matter for the Diet to decide, but a forum for discussion between the ruling and opposition parties has been established.'' If the situation arises, our party will actively contribute to the discussion."

He also stated, ``It is up to each political group to decide whether to disband a faction, but dissolving a faction does not remove the accountability of those involved.''

Fukuoka, chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party's House of Councilors Policy Council, said, ``Now is the critical moment, as we must materialize our efforts for political reform and regain the trust of the people.We must continue to implement reforms with an unwavering resolve.'' "How do you plan to demonstrate your leadership?" he asked.

In response, Prime Minister Kishida said, ``If we don't have faith, we can't stand.'' Without the trust of the people, there can be no political stability, and without political stability, there can be no promotion of policies. We must move forward with efforts toward recovery, and I will take the lead in carrying out an interim report by the party's political reform headquarters."

Collision accident at Haneda Airport

In response to the collision between planes that occurred at Haneda Airport, Prime Minister Kishida said, ``In addition to deploying personnel to constantly monitor runway incursions using radar, we will take both hard and soft countermeasures by this summer.'' We plan to compile a report and determine the need to strengthen the system."

Regarding the “Taiwan emergency”

Regarding the so-called "Taiwan emergency," Prime Minister Kishida said, "Peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait is important for the stability of the entire international community, and I hope that the issues surrounding Taiwan will be resolved peacefully through dialogue. We will communicate Japan's consistent position and communicate it clearly while working closely with like-minded countries and other countries.At the same time, we will take every possible measure to ensure the safety and prosperity of our people, including the maintenance of our systems on a regular basis." said.