Japan Opposition Parties Boycott Diet Over Seat-Reduction Bill

Eleven opposition party groups in Japan's Diet announced they will boycott all parliamentary deliberations after the ruling coalition advanced a seat-reduction bill ^[1].

This escalation threatens to paralyze the legislative process as the government pushes through key measures before the current session ends on July 17 ^[3]. The standoff centers on the ruling coalition's decision to move the House of Representatives seat-reduction bill into deliberations without securing the agreement of opposition parties.

Opposition leaders described the government's move as a disregard for the functions of the national parliament. Shigenori, the National Diet Affairs Committee Chair for the Center for Democratic Reform, said the move is a disregard for the Diet and that the Liberal Democratic Party lacks a self-purifying function ^[1].

In addition to blocking the seat-reduction bill, the opposition groups are demanding that Prime Minister Takaichi appear before the budget committee ^[1]. The Constitutional Democratic Party's National Diet Affairs Committee Chair said the move was a disregard for parliament, and that such a precedent must not be set ^[2].

Despite the general boycott, some contradictions exist regarding the extent of the refusal. While some reports state that opposition parties are rejecting all deliberations ^[1], other reports indicate that the Constitutional Democratic Party and the LDP's Diet affairs chairs agreed to enter deliberations and vote on the 2026 supplementary budget ^[4]. In the Upper House, the supplementary budget was slated for only one day of deliberation ^[4].

This legislative friction coincides with other pending measures, including a bill to criminalize the desecration of the national flag, which was scheduled for a vote on June 30 ^[1].