The ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has released its campaign platform for the upcoming House of Representatives election, which largely maintains the policies of former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s Cabinet. However, many ideas put forth by current Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba have been left out.
The LDP faced a short preparation period for the election, which limited their ability to coordinate opinions within the party and develop new policies. As part of their platform, the LDP promises to abolish political activity funds provided to member lawmakers in the future, indicating a willingness to reform themselves.
Itsunori Onodera, chairperson of the LDP’s Policy Research Council, emphasized that policies and campaign promises must be realized rather than mere pie-in-the-sky ideas. The platform includes some of Ishiba’s long-standing ideas such as creating a disaster management agency and promoting regional revitalization.
Economically, the platform aims for wage increases that exceed inflation and calls for a sustainable social security system covering all generations. These promises align with the Basic Policy on Economic and Fiscal Management and Reform 2024 compiled by Kishida’s previous Cabinet.
In terms of diplomatic and security policies, Ishiba had pledged to create an Asian version of NATO and revise the Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement during his bid for LDP presidency. However, these proposals face challenges such as amending Japan’s Constitution to fully exercise collective self-defense rights or maintaining Japan-U.S alliance while revising agreements.
To address these concerns without explicitly mentioning Ishiba’s proposals by name, the platform states that Japan will take leadership in promoting measures for regional security without specifying an Asian NATO concept. Regarding the Status of Forces Agreement revision goal is stated as aiming for a desirable state without further details.
While Ishiba supported allowing married couples to use separate surnames if desired, no clear stance is specified in this regard in the platform. The party intends to build consensus on what should be done about surname systems before taking any action.
On political activity funds abolition issue some members are cautious but reflecting Ishiba’s perspective; transparency efforts will be made along with establishing third-party auditing organization with potential future abolishment possibility mentioned in line with opposition parties’ advocacy.
During a recent debate between party leaders however; Ishiba acknowledged that there may still be instances where LDP members need these funds for their election campaigns due to financial limitations associated with political activities.