INTERVIEW: Ruling Pair's Loss of Majority Condition for DPFP Joining Coalition

   Tokyo, Sept. 17 (Jiji Press)--Yuichiro Tamaki, leader of the Democratic Party for the People, has indicated that if the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its Komeito ally lose their majority in parliament, that could be a factor pushing his party to join the coalition.
   "The LDP may no longer be in its current form if the ruling pair loses its majority," Tamaki, who was re-elected DPFP leader in early September, said in a recent interview with Jiji Press.
   "If we agree on basic policies, there is a possibility that we will work with politicians from both the ruling and opposition parties, including some from the LDP," he stated, showing eagerness to make the DPFP bigger "so that it can be part of the administration when the time comes."
   "We want to increase the number of proportional representation votes by 20 pct in every large-scale parliamentary election," Tamaki said.
   Tamaki cited "sustainable wage growth" as the most important issue for the country. He also said: "The most urgent task at the moment is to cut gasoline prices and electricity charges. While it may be appropriate for the government to extend its subsidy program (for curbing gasoline prices) for the time being, it should abolish the provisional add-on gasoline tax rate."

(2023/09/17-11:00)

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