Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is expected to face intense questioning from the opposition on Monday after her ruling coalition passed a divisive bill by a razor-thin margin at the end of the parliamentary session.
Takaichi is set to appear at the Lower House Budget Committee from 9 a.m. during a review that follows Saturday¡¯s adjournment of parliament.
On Friday, parliament enacted a bill to establish a second capital in the event Tokyo is incapacitated by a major disaster in a vote that underscored the constraints Takaichi faces with her policy agenda, even after leading the ruling Liberal Democratic Party to a supermajority in the powerful Lower House in the February polls.
Takaichi¡¯s ruling coalition secured passage in the Upper House ¡ª where it lacks a majority ¡ª in a 123-121 vote that had the support of a small startup party and three independents. The narrow victory contrasted sharply with the bill¡¯s easy approval in the Lower House.
The bill was championed by Takaichi¡¯s coalition partner, the Japan Innovation Party, and was part of the reason the government extended the parliament session by eight days.
Takaichi¡¯s initial popularity has waned, according to recent polls, after she pushed ahead with some divisive bills without addressing voter concerns about the rising cost of living. Her approval ratings slipped in recent surveys, conducted after a number of controversial proposals were passed into law.
Those bills included an overhaul of the imperial family law, which allowed the family to adopt distant relatives to ensure male succession, diminishing the prospect of an empress inheriting the throne. Takaichi also oversaw the passage of a bill banning the desecration of the Japanese flag, a move that has sparked concern from critics about freedom of speech.
Meanwhile, the government aims to finalize its policy by early August on a costly cut to sales tax on food, one of Takaichi¡¯s key campaign pledges. Cross-party discussions have progressed in fits and starts as lawmakers struggle to reach a consensus.
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