2024-12-23 21:07:00
The Japan Restoration Party held its first standing executive meeting since the new system was launched. Representative Yoshimura expressed his intention to aim to realize the three pillars of the party's policies: reducing social insurance premiums, making education free, and banning corporate and group donations.
2024-12-23 21:05:00
At a meeting of the LDP's executive committee, Secretary General Moriyama expressed his intention to donate a certain amount of money to the party, saying he wanted to settle the issue of politics and money. The executives will consider the recipient, amount, and timing of the donation in the future. Secretary General Moriyama expressed his intention to donate a certain amount of money to the party, following the issue of failure to report on the income and expenditure report regarding a political fundraising party held by a faction.
2024-12-23 20:41:00
Thirty years ago, former House of Representatives Speaker Taro Kono, who worked on political reform as president of the Liberal Democratic Party, expressed the view that if political party subsidies had been introduced, corporate and organizational donations would have been banned thereafter.
2024-12-23 20:07:00
Prime Minister Ishiba will hold a press conference on the 24th, at the end of the current Diet session, to explain the results of the session.
2024-12-23 19:26:00
In order to ban disrespectful content from election posters, the ruling and opposition parties have confirmed their intention to amend the Public Offices Election Act in time for the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election in the summer of 2025.
2024-12-23 19:25:00
The government has summarized the issues surrounding the implementation of free school lunches nationwide. It points out that the benefits will not reach children and students who do not eat school lunches due to allergies, and that a stable financial source of at least 480 billion yen will be required.
2024-12-23 19:01:00
Prime Minister Ishiba met with members of the Japan-U.S. Business Council, an organization made up of corporate executives, and conveyed his intention to promote public-private cooperation to further develop Japan-U.S. relations, with an eye toward the next Trump administration.
2024-12-23 18:30:00
Regarding "individual evacuation plans," which define evacuation routes for people who have difficulty evacuating on their own in the event of a disaster, Minister Sakai stated that many municipalities have not made much progress in formulating such plans, and expressed his intention to ask related organizations such as welfare and nursing care organizations to cooperate in strengthening cooperation with municipalities.
2024-12-23 18:03:00
A barber shop that has been operating within the National Diet for over half a century and has even cut the hair of successive prime ministers is closing, with regular customers including Diet members and secretaries visiting to bid farewell.
2024-12-23 17:41:00
Regarding the LDP's politics and money issue, five opposition parties, including the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, confirmed that they will continue to call for the former Abe faction's accounting officer to appear before the Diet as an expert witness in order to uncover the truth, and agreed that if the ruling party does not comply, they will also consider a vote in the House of Representatives Budget Committee.
2024-12-23 17:02:00
Regarding the House of Councillors elections next summer, Deputy Leader of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, Hirotoshi Nagatsuma, said he was open to considering participating in primary elections aimed at unifying opposition candidates, as advocated by the Japan Restoration Party, but also recognized the need to ensure their effectiveness.
2024-12-23 16:23:00
Amid continuing domestic turmoil in South Korea, Foreign Minister Iwao spoke by telephone with Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yol on the morning of the 23rd, in which the two sides confirmed the importance of continuing to prepare for exchange programs ahead of the 60th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations next year, as well as the importance of working together to respond to North Korea and other nations that continue to develop nuclear weapons and missiles.
2024-12-23 15:57:00
Chief Cabinet Secretary Hayashi spoke in Tokyo, emphasizing that since becoming a minority government, the party has been able to move forward with policies such as the budget and political reform while also taking into account the opinions of the opposition parties, and expressed his intention to continue to run the government carefully.
2024-12-23 15:52:00
Former Minister of State for the Promotion of 100 Million People's Dynamic Engagement, Eto Seiichi, who appeared before the House of Councillors Political Ethics Committee, explained that he did not know the actual situation of kickbacks because he had never met the sales quota for party tickets to raise political funds for factions.
2024-12-23 14:19:00
In response to the declining birthrate, three opposition parties, including the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, have jointly submitted a bill to the Diet to make school lunches free of charge at public elementary and junior high schools.
2024-12-23 12:29:00
A debate was held at a special committee of the House of Councillors deliberating on a bill related to political reform regarding corporate and group donations. The Liberal Democratic Party argued that disclosure is more important than banning them, and that discussions should also take into account the differences in each party's income structure. Meanwhile, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan argued that such donations distort policy decisions and that they should be banned and a shift to individual donations should be made.
2024-12-23 11:06:00
At a board meeting on the morning of the 23rd, a special committee of the House of Councillors discussing political reform agreed to hold a committee meeting on the morning of the 24th to hold a question-and-answer session.
2024-12-23 08:56:00
Prime Minister Ishiba's Activities December 20-22, 2024 (Prime Minister Ishiba's Activities December 22, 2024) 09:58 Departs from House of Representatives members' accommodation in Akasaka, Tokyo 10:12 Arrives at Fujimicho Church in Fujimi, Tokyo. Participates in Christmas service 11:32 Departs from the same location 11:45 Arrives at the same location (Prime Minister Ishiba's Activities December 21, 2024) 08:44 Departs from House of Representatives members' accommodation in Akasaka, Tokyo 08:56 Arrives at Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi Main Store in Nihonbashi Muromachi, Tokyo 08:58 Views the "2024 Photojournalism Exhibition" (until 09:10) 09:11 Interviews with various media companies (until 09:15) 09:18 Departs from the same location 09:35 Arrives at Lawson Nagatacho 1-Chome convenience store in Nagatacho, Tokyo. Shopping 09:40 Departure from same place 09:42 Arrival at House of Representatives No. 2 Members' Building 10:10 Meeting with Tottori Prefectural Assembly Member Yamamoto Akiko (until 10:20) 13:51 Departure from same place 13:52 Arrival at the official residence 14:01 Meeting with Minister of Health, Labor and Welfare Fukuoka Suemasa, Vice-Minister Ihara Kazuto of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, and Director-General of the Pension Bureau Hazama Ryuichiro (until 15:01) 15:05 Meeting with Minister of Finance Kato Katsunobu, Vice-Minister of Finance Shinkawa Hirotsugu, Director-General of the Budget Bureau Unami Hirotaka, and Director-General of the Tax Bureau Aoki Takanori (until 16:19) 16:21 Meeting with Counselor for General Affairs Hara Kuniaki of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, and Director-General of the Local Tax Bureau Terasaki Hidetoshi (until 16:52) 16:55 Departure from the official residence 16:59 Arrival at the members' accommodation (Prime Minister Ishiba's activities, December 20, 2024) 06:46 Departs from House of Representatives member accommodation in Akasaka, Tokyo at 6:49. Arrives at the Prime Minister's Office at 6:59. Meets with Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Aoki Kazuhiko (until 8:19). 8:35 Ministerial Meeting on Promoting a Disaster Prevention Nation (until 8:55). 9:00 Cabinet meeting (until 9:13). 9:18 Ministerial Meeting on Strengthening Maritime Safety Capabilities (until 9:31). 9:32. Awards a letter of appointment to National Public Safety Commission member Akiyoshi Hitomi. Chief Cabinet Secretary Hayashi Yoshimasa also in attendance (until 9:36). 9:52. Departs from the Prime Minister's Office at 9:53. Arrives at the Diet at 9:55. Enters the reception room of the Speaker of the House of Councillors at 9:57. Leaves the room at 9:58. Enters the House of Councillors plenary session hall at 10:01. House of Councillors plenary session opens at 11:36. House of Councillors plenary session takes a break. Leave the plenary session hall at 11:38. Leave the Diet at 11:40. Arrive at the Prime Minister's Office at 12:51. Leave the Diet at 12:53. Arrive at the Diet at 12:54. Enter the reception room of the Speaker of the House of Councillors at 12:57. Leave the room. Enter the plenary session hall of the House of Councillors at 12:59. Talk with Chief Cabinet Secretary Hayashi (until 13:00). 13:01. Resuming the plenary session of the House of Councillors at 14:01. Leaves the plenary session of the House of Councillors midway through. 14:02. Leave the Diet at 14:04. Arrive at the Prime Minister's Office at 14:10. Award ceremony for long-term service of the Cabinet and Cabinet Office (until 14:26). 14:40. Met with Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Muto Yoshiharu, Assistant Chief Cabinet Secretary Ichikawa Keiichi, Administrative Vice-Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Iida Yuji, Director-General of the Trade and Economic Security Bureau of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry Fukunaga Tetsuro, and Director-General of the Commerce and Information Policy Bureau Nohara Satoshi (until 15:10). 15:42. Meetings with Minister of State for Science and Technology Minoru Ihara, Special Advisor to the Prime Minister Masafumi Mori, Deputy Director-General of the Cabinet Secretariat's Global Startup Campus Initiative Promotion Office Shoji Watanabe, Director-General of the Science, Technology and Innovation Promotion Secretariat of the Cabinet Office Koichi Hamano, Director-General of the Science, Technology and Innovation Promotion Secretariat Yasuyoshi Kakida, and Director-General of the Space Development Strategy Promotion Secretariat Jun Kaze (until 16:12) 16:13 Meetings with Minister of State for Science and Technology Minoru Ihara, Special Advisor to the Prime Minister Mori, Director-General of the Science, Technology and Innovation Promotion Secretariat of the Cabinet Office Hamano, and Director-General of the Space Development Strategy Promotion Secretariat Kaze (until 16:28) 17:14 Meetings with Deputy Director-General of the National Security Secretariat Keiichi Ichikawa, Cabinet Intelligence Director-General Kazuya Hara, and Director-General of the Cyber Police Bureau of the National Police Agency Takashi Osaka (until 17:24) 17:25 Meeting with Cabinet Intelligence Director-General Hara (until 17:37) 17:38 Meetings with Minister of Health, Labor and Welfare Fukuoka Suemasa, Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Eto Taku, Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Nakano Hiromasa, Minister of Digital Affairs Taira Masaaki, Minister of Reconstruction Ito Tadahiko, Minister of State for Economic Security Ito Minoru, and Minister of State for Regional Revitalization Ito Yoshitaka (until 17:56). 18:02 Ministerial Meeting on Monthly Economic Reports (until 18:19). 18:23 Ministerial Meeting on Improvement of Treatment and Working Environment of Self-Defense Forces Personnel and Establishment of New Life Planning (until 18:44). 18:48 Meetings with Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications Murakami Seiichiro, Minister of Defense Nakatani Gen, and Chairman of the National Public Safety Commission Sakai Manabu (until 19:08). 19:59 Departure from the Prime Minister's Office. 20:03 Arrival at the Diet Members' Accommodation.
2024-12-23 05:24:00
On the 23rd, the House of Councillors will deliberate on a bill related to political reform, which includes the abolition of policy activity expenses. The bill is expected to be passed on the 24th, at the end of the session, with the support of the opposition parties, and a second revision of the Political Funds Control Law will be realized.
