Japanese parties' election campaigning swings into gear

In their speeches on the second day of the official campaign period for the Upper House election, party leaders focused on issues such as higher prices and rice shortages.

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who leads the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, emphasised the importance of increasing rice production in a dialogue with local farmers in Shirakawa, Fukushima Prefecture, northeastern Japan.

In a street address, Ishiba touted his ruling coalition's campaign pledge to provide cash benefits ranging from 20,000 yen to 40,000 yen per person to help cushion the impact of higher prices on households, saying this was "not pork barreling."

Later, the prime minister visited Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, central Japan, which was hit hard by a major earthquake in January 2024, and pledged to make Japan the world's leading disaster-resilient nation.

"Which party will discuss disaster prevention in an election?" he said. "I wonder where there is a party that can talk responsibly about medical services, pensions, nursing care and child-rearing," he said, emphasising that the LDP will take responsibility for the country's future.

Mitsunari Okamoto, policy chief at Komeito, the LDP's coalition partner, said in a speech in Asaka, Saitama Prefecture, north of Tokyo, also touted the ruling bloc's cash benefits plan, saying the payments "may not be sufficient, but we hope they will help people cope with rising prices."

In a stump speech in the southwestern city of Kumamoto, Yoshihiko Noda, head of the major opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, criticised the ruling bloc's refusal to abolish the provisional gasoline tax. "It's quite natural to abolish (the tax) amid higher inflation."

Hirofumi Yoshimura, leader of Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Innovation Party), another opposition party, in a street speech in Ashiya, Hyogo Prefecture, western Japan, vowed to defeat politicians who believe that just handing out benefits will work out well.

Yuichiro Tamaki, head of the opposition Democratic Party for the People, emphasised in a stump speech in the southwestern city of Fukuoka that providing the benefits alone "will not lead to a lasting sense of security."

Akira Koike, head of the secretariat of the Japanese Communist Party, speaking in the city of Fukushima, blamed the LDP's past push to reduce rice production for soaring rice prices.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]