FOCUS: LDP Heavyweight Moriyama Boosting Presence

   Tokyo, Jan. 18 (Jiji Press)--Liberal Democratic Party Secretary-General Hiroshi Moriyama is boosting his presence in the management of the Japanese ruling party and parliamentary affairs under the minority government of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.
   Ishiba, also president of the LDP, is expected to continue relying on Moriyama, 79, during this year's ordinary session of the Diet, Japan's parliament, set to start Friday, and in the run-up to this summer's election for the House of Councillors, the upper chamber of the Diet.
   However, Moriyama's increased presence has failed to shore up the Ishiba administration. Some nonmainstream LDP members are frustrated at his alleged high-handed stance.
   "We must aim to pass" the government's fiscal 2025 draft budget during "the important ordinary Diet session," Moriyama told reporters Friday after meeting with Ishiba at the prime minister's office earlier in the day.
   Moriyama's ability will be tested during the ordinary session, as the LDP and its coalition partner, Komeito, cannot pass the budget or other bills without the cooperation of opposition parties, pundits said. The ruling pair lost its House of Representatives majority in the October 2024 general election for the all-important lower chamber of the Diet.

(2025/01/18-21:36)

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