Editorial

14:50 JST, June 12, 2025

The starting time of the latest debate between party leaders was delayed to enable more people to see it, but the substance of the debate turned out to be a competition over handout policies. The judgment of the leaders of each party is questionable.

The last debate between party leaders for the current Diet session has now been held. It had been customary for such a debate to start at 3 p.m., but the start was moved to 6 p.m. in response to opposition parties’ requests to increase public interest. If that is the purpose, the 45-minute total debate time should also be extended in the future.

The main topic of the debate this time was measures to deal with soaring prices.

Yoshihiko Noda, president of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, argued that the consumption tax rate on groceries should be reduced to 0% for up to two years as “the only way to........

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