Noda Questions Ishiba in Diet Debate
The leader of Japan's main opposition party, Yoshihiko Noda, challenged Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba during a Diet debate on January 27th. However, Noda's attempts to elicit substantive responses on key policy issues were largely unsuccessful.
Noda began his 35-minute question session by seeking Ishiba's opinion on the early actions of the second Trump administration, specifically regarding the United States' withdrawal from the World Health Organization and the Paris Agreement on climate change. Ishiba, however, avoided making any rash judgments, stating that the government would carefully analyze and evaluate these decisions before forming an opinion.
Noda then shifted his focus to Japan's fiscal situation, expressing concern over a recent government projection that the primary balance of the central and local governments would remain in a deficit of 4.5 trillion yen ($29 billion) in fiscal 2025. Ishiba countered that fiscal conditions have been steadily improving and that the government would achieve a primary balance surplus at an early date.
Noda also raised the issue of a new political fund scandal involving members of the Tokyo metropolitan assembly from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). However, Ishiba effectively ruled out a fresh probe, stating that the party had no knowledge of other cases of underreporting.
The debate concluded with Noda questioning Ishiba's commitment to addressing the issue of political donations from companies and organizations. While the ruling and opposition parties agreed to reach a final decision on this matter by the end of March, Noda expressed concern that Ishiba lacked the necessary resolve to complete this task.