TOKYO, July 7 — Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has recently come under criticism over her attendance at parliamentary deliberations and her responses to lawmakers’ questions, with critics accusing her of disregarding the Diet, Japan’s parliament.
According to the Mainichi Shimbun, as of Monday, Takaichi had attended eight intensive Diet deliberations during the current parliamentary session, spending a total of 29 hours and 36 minutes — roughly 40 percent of the average time logged by former prime ministers Yoshihide Suga, Fumio Kishida and Shigeru Ishiba over the past five years.
In addition, the ruling and opposition parties agreed in 2025 to hold a parliamentary debate among party leaders every month from April through June. Takaichi, however, has attended only one such debate this year, in May.
Opposition parties also pointed out in the Diet on Monday that the legislative process has slowed markedly in the current session.
During the three ordinary Diet sessions held between 2023 and 2025, nearly 98 percent of government-submitted bills were enacted. By contrast, with the current session nearing its end, only 73 percent of such bills had been passed.
Taku Yamazoe, policy chief of the Japanese Communist Party, wrote on social media on Tuesday, accusing Takaichi of effectively refusing to attend Diet deliberations, adding that even when she did show up, she often dodged lawmakers’ questions and repeatedly demonstrated an insincere attitude in her responses.
Yuki Honda, a professor at the University of Tokyo’s Graduate School of Education, said Takaichi relied on rote and formulaic answers to get through questioning, leaving Diet deliberations in deadlock.
She also criticized Takaichi, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), and their supporters for lacking due reflection and accountability. According to the Asahi Shimbun, the Takaichi administration took advantage of the ruling coalition’s majority in the House of Representatives to curtail debate on the budget bill during the current Diet session.
It also pushed through a number of bills despite opposition protests, intensifying confrontation between the ruling and opposition camps.
The newspaper quoted a former cabinet minister from the LDP as saying, “This is the worst Diet I have ever seen.”(Namibia Daily News/Xinhua)
