According to Bloomberg's report on July 26, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihara Koichi is expected to face severe questioning from opposition parties on July 27. Previously, her ruling coalition passed a controversial law by a narrow margin at the end of the parliamentary session.
On July 24th, the Japanese parliament passed a bill aimed at establishing a ‘second capital’ to deal with Tokyo's potential paralysis due to major disasters. This vote highlighted the limitations faced by Kaisho Hayami in implementing her policy agenda—although she led the ruling Liberal Democratic Party in elections last February and won an absolute majority in the House of Representatives where actual power lies.
In the Senate, where the majority is not in place, Prime Minister Koizumi's ruling coalition passed the bill by a narrow margin of 123 votes to 121 votes. This was thanks to the support of a small party and three non-partisan members of Congress. Such a close victory contrasts sharply with the ease with which the bill was passed in the House of Representatives.
It is reported that this bill was strongly promoted by Takumi Asama, a close ally of the ruling party. This is also one of the reasons why the government extended the parliamentary session by eight days. With the parliamentary session closed, Asama is scheduled to attend a review meeting at the House Budget Committee on July 27 at 9 a.m.
Bloomberg noted that recent polls show that Yoshihiko Koo's support rate has declined. This is because she pushed through some controversial bills without addressing voters' concerns about rising living costs. After various legislative proposals were passed, polls indicated that her support rate decreased.
On July 26th, a poll conducted by the Japanese newspaper Kyodo News showed that the support rate for the Japanese cabinet had dropped to 53.7%, the lowest level since October last year when the cabinet was established. This was a decrease of 2.1 percentage points compared to the survey in June. The rate of disapproval increased by 5.8 percentage points, reaching 33.7%.
Other controversial laws include amendments to the Royal Code, which allow the royal family to adopt distant relatives in order to maintain the male-hegemony system and reduce the likelihood of female succession. Another law that prohibits insulting the Japanese flag has also raised concerns about freedom of speech.
Meanwhile, the Gao government plans to finalize the policy of reducing food consumption tax by early August. This was one of her main promises during her campaign, but no consensus has been reached among various parties regarding the specific implementation details.
