The ruling Liberal Democratic Party reached an agreement on political financing with its junior coalition partner Komeito and the opposition party Nippon Ishin no Kai on Friday, sealing the approval of an amendment to the relevant law within the current session of parliament.
Amid slow negotiations with other opposition parties, the LDP chose to instead accommodate Komeito and Nippon Ishin’s requests to avoid further public backlash over the inability to adopt new fundraising rules. Approval ratings for the party and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s government are already low.
Although the LDP retains an absolute majority in the House of Representatives without Komeito, any unilateral action on the sensitive issue of political reform risked upsetting voters.
