Takashi Endo, parliamentary affairs chief of the Japan Innovation Party (JIP), warned Thursday that his party may leave its ruling coalition with the Liberal Democratic Party if talks on reducing the number of House of Representatives seats falter.

Endo, who also serves as a special adviser to Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, said in an interview that a bill on cutting seats in the all-important lower chamber of parliament should be enacted during the ongoing parliamentary session, even if it means the session would need to be extended from its current end date of Dec. 17.

The LDP and JIP plan to submit a bill featuring the general framework for reductions while further negotiations continue.

The two parties said in their coalition agreement that they will seek to submit a lawmaker-sponsored bill to parliament during the current extraordinary session to slash the number of seats in the Lower House by a target of 10%. Although the JIP positions seat reductions as an absolute condition for the coalition, there are still cautious voices within the LDP over the move.

¡°The terms of the agreement are promises to the public,¡± Endo said, warning that the JIP may leave the coalition if the bill does not contain the junior ruling party¡¯s proposal of trimming the lower chamber by 50 seats.

¡°Reducing the number of lawmakers by 50 to cut spending by ?5 billion is not the overriding principle. What is needed now is a political stance that makes people think, ¡¯When it¡¯s time to act, they act,¡¯¡± Endo said.

The JIP hopes to enact the bill during the ongoing parliamentary session, and Endo said that ¡°saying there is no time is just an excuse used by political parties.¡±

The Takaichi Cabinet is enjoying high approval ratings in media opinion polls, and some within the LDP call for an early dissolution of the Lower House for a snap general election. Endo expressed a cautious view on this, noting that Takaichi herself has said that expectations will rapidly diminish if results are not delivered. ¡°As we deliver results, the timing will come to seek voter response through an election,¡± he added.