Only for Guild Members » ever, the LDP has to

TOKYO Chris Wagner Jersey , July 5 (Xinhua) -- Japan's ruling and opposition parties agreed to reconvene parliament next week for one-off committee deliberations with the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's (LDP's) multiple scandals and gaffes being the main focal points.


With the ruling LDP now on the back foot following an historic clobbering against Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike's newly-formed Tomin First no Kai (Tokyoites First party) in the Tokyo metropolitan assembly election on Sunday, a fortified opposition camp will pull no punches in its upbraiding of the scandal-plagued LDP.


The reconvening of parliament, follows the opposition camp initially baulking at an offer made by the ruling LDP for committee deliberations to be held on July 10 or 11, as prime minister Shinzo Abe, central to at least one of the scandals dogging the ruling camp Cal Clutterbuck Jersey , will not be able to attend as he will be in Germany for the G20 summit.


But following two meetings held between LDP Diet Affairs Committee Chairman Wataru Takeshita and Democratic Party Diet affairs chief Kazunori Yamanoi, it was agreed that the committee deliberations would be held and the LDP, reversing its previous position, consented to allow Kihei Maekawa, a former vice minister of education Mathew Barzal Jersey , to be summoned to give unsworn testimony in parliament.


Maekawa has alleged that Abe has used his position and influence to help Kake Educational Institution, which is chaired by a close friend of Abe's, to secure a deal to open a new veterinary medicine department in a special deregulated zone.


On the heels of the LDP's meteoric loss in the Tokyo assembly election which has severely damaged the very foundation of the party, with its future course and leadership now uncertain, the opposition camp will waste no time in quizzing Maekawa over documents that allegedly prove Abe's involvement in the influence-peddling scandal.


The Democratic Party Josh Bailey Jersey , Japanese Communist Party, Social Democratic Party and Liberal Party have also taken aim at Defense Minister Tomomi Inada, calling for her to be sacked for violating the nation's Self-Defense Forces Law, which strictly prohibits political activities by its personnel.


Inada called on voters during a stump speech ahead of the election to cast their ballots for a LDP candidate, saying that the request came from "the Defense Ministry Jordan Eberle Jersey , the Defense Minister and the LDP."


Hours later she retracted her contentious comments saying that they might lead to "misunderstandings."


Democratic Party leader Renho, who goes by her first name, at the time said that Inada's remarks ran contrary to the SDF law and were out of line and insisted that she should resign immediately.


She added that Abe bore the responsibility as well as it was him that appointed her to her post as defense minister.


The LDP being on the receiving end of its worst defeat in the history of the Tokyo municipal election has shaken up politics in Japan and the public's overwhelming support for Koike and her new party is not only a testament to their faith in the Tokyo Governor, but it is also a very clear message sent to Abe and the LDP that they are dissatisfied with the way the party has been handling a number of contentious matters recently.


The LDP and senior officials have been embroiled in a number of scandals and gaffes recently and the public feel they have not fully accounted for themselves and used their majority to simply push their own agenda, Asian Affairs commentator Nick Leddy Jersey , Kaoru Imori, told Xinhua.


Experts here have also been quick to highlight the fact that the LDP's defeat was so damaging for the party that Hakubun Shimomura, who heads the party's Tokyo chapter, had little choice but to step down from the post to take responsibility for the historic defeat.


Shimomura, adding to the LDP's woes Andrew Ladd Islanders Jersey , has also been accused of mishandled political donations from Kake Educational Institution.


The future course of the LDP is, thus, now in question, based on the LDP's election drubbing and numerous scandals, as the Tokyo metropolitan assembly elections are a barometer for the future of national politics John Tavares Islanders Jersey , and, while Tomin First no Kai may not be entering national politics immediately, some pundits believe it won't be long until the LDP has to contend with the new party on a national level.


In the nearer term, however, the LDP has to contend with Japan's education ministry saying that a second internal probe has tuned up documents that may show that Abe indeed used his influence to aid plans to open a new school chaired by a close friend of his in a special deregulated zone in Japan.


Maekawa has resolutely claimed that senior gov