The day after the stalemate on the 17th over raising the annual income "1.03 million yen barrier," the Democratic Party for the People is waiting for a new proposal from the ruling party. ■Ruling Party vs. People Neither party will give in... However, on the afternoon of the 18th, the ruling party held a tax consultation with only the LDP and Komeito. It was revealed that they have no intention of making any new proposals to the Democratic Party for the People. The ruling party's tax reform outline for fiscal 2025 is being adjusted to include the ruling party's proposal of raising the tax rate to 1.23 million yen. The Democratic Party for the People, which continues to demand an increase to "1.78 million yen," immediately rebelled. Yuichiro Tamaki, Representative of the Democratic Party for the People (suspended from his position), said, "It is disappointing and surprising that the outline is being decided while the agreement between the secretaries-general of the three parties is being ignored from our perspective." What is the background behind the minority ruling party, which has been pushed back until now, now pushing forward with the ruling party's proposal? Representative Tamaki analyzes it as follows. Yuichiro Tamaki, leader of the Democratic Party for the People (suspended): "I wonder if they have worked out the details to work with the Ishin Party to a certain extent. I don't know. Maybe they have consulted and coordinated with the opposition parties and decided that it would be okay to go all out with 1.23 million yen this time." ■ "Free education" - sudden rapprochement with the Ishin Party!? What is in mind is the movement between the ruling party and the Japan Restoration Party over "free education." The LDP, Komeito, and Ishin Party agreed to hold a working-level meeting on the 19th regarding free education. Maehara, co-leader, made the following statement. Seiji Maehara, co-leader of the Japan Restoration Party (17th): "I would like the budget currently being discussed to include a provision for free high school education with no income restrictions. Implementation from April next year is a necessary condition for approving the budget." The Ishin Party is seeking to realize its flagship policy while dangling cooperation in next year's budget proposal, while the ruling party wants to seek a partner other than the Democratic Party for the People. The Democratic Party for the People has mixed feelings. A senior member of the Democratic Party for the People said, "In truth, we would like to resume discussions with the ruling party." There are only two days left until the 20th, when the ruling party aims to finalize the outline of tax reform. The bargaining will continue until the very last moment. Hagiuda: "The public has great doubts" Meanwhile, in the Diet, a Political Ethics Review Committee was held in response to the faction slush fund scandal. Attending was House of Representatives member Hagiuda Koichi, who belonged to the Abe faction. Over a five-year period, he had not reported income of over 27 million yen. This was the third highest amount in the LDP survey. Former LDP Policy Research Council Chairman Koichi Hagiuda: "The reason why the amount became so large is that the quota that was originally set was high, but at the time, the economic situation and the COVID-19 pandemic were taken into consideration, and the quota was later lowered, which resulted in a large difference in the amount that exceeded the quota. This is due to the fact that I was appointed Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, and Chairman of the LDP Policy Research Council, which naturally led to an increase in the number of people wanting to purchase the product. There is absolutely no evidence that I actively sold the product with the aim of increasing the refund amount, and this point was confirmed based on evidence in the investigation by the authorities." Hagiuda was first explained about the "non-reporting" by the faction secretariat in 2004, when Mori was chairman. It was apparently something like this. Former LDP Policy Research Council Chairman Koichi Hagiuda: "There is an agreement that sales that exceed the quota are refunded as political activity expenses and are not to be reported in the income and expenditure report." It is still a mystery who and why resumed the kickbacks that the Abe faction once decided to stop. Hagiuda explained that he became a faction leader in August last year, and was not in a position to participate in the meeting of leaders the year before last where kickbacks were discussed after the death of former Prime Minister Abe. Former LDP Policy Research Council Chairman Hagiuda Koichi said, "I would like to make it clear that I was not in a position to be involved, to know about, or to inform other members of the operation of the Seiwa Kai political fundraising parties, the handling of income, or the accounting process that has become an issue this time." Shibayama: "It has not been investigated" A total of 11 members from the House of Representatives and the House of Councillors attended the Political Ethics Committee meeting on the 18th. Other lawmakers also revealed instructions from the faction secretariat. Former Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Liberal Democratic Party, Shibayama Masahiko: "Around 2014, the Seiwaken secretariat requested my secretary that from now on, donations would not be recorded in the income and expenditure report, and that your office should also take the same approach to receipts. We asked them to follow the format of not recording either party. We asked them if there really was any legal problem and if they could continue to record both parties as donations as before, but Seiwaken instructed us that they were handling the matter legally and that they could not treat your office as a special donor, and that we should follow their instructions." However, when asked about the circumstances surrounding the resumption, Shibayama Masahiko, former Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Liberal Democratic Party, said, "I had no idea about the resumption of (kickbacks) until this incident occurred. As far as I've heard from various people, unfortunately, we haven't been able to investigate it. I feel very frustrated." [TV Asahi News] https://news.tv-asahi.co.jp