TOKYO – Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s presence at Diet committee sessions is in the spotlight after a think tank recently argued she should not be required to attend, just as her newly appointed Diet affairs chief appears poised to push for change.
The developments have alarmed opposition lawmakers, who have warned against shortening Diet deliberations or reducing the prime minister’s appearances before committees where they can question her and scrutinize the government.
Published in September by NXJI Research, a think tank headed by former ruling-party lawmaker Masanobu Ogura, the report argues the premier’s time in parliament should be limited to ensure focus on policy and top-level diplomacy. It also calls for the introduction of chefs and housekeepers at the leader’s official residence.
It comes as Takaichi’s use of time has received national attention, including social media posts describing evening chores at her official residence and a sleep schedule of up to three hours. She has also claimed to have prepared well into the night to reply to opposition lawmakers’ questions at committee hearings the next day.
The report compares the Japanese prime minister’s time in the legislature in a period around 2022 to some Group of Seven counterparts, finding the Japanese leader spoke in parliament on 72 days compared to 50 days for the British prime minister, 13 days for the German chancellor and just one day for the U.S. president.
It also highlights the extensive time a Japanese prime minister can spend answering budget committee hearings, sometimes for up to seven hours a day. In an interview in the report, former Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda says other world leaders were astonished at his parliamentary schedule in its busiest periods.
Among the lawmakers who have taken note of the recommendations is Hideki Murai, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s new Diet affairs chief appointed in September, who shared an article on his X account in the same month.
Murai — who has never held a ministerial position, a rarity among Diet affairs chiefs who typically rely on connections cultivated over a long career — is seen by one former Cabinet minister as a “pragmatist keen on reform.”
When asked his intention in sharing the article, Murai, 46, said only that he “wanted people who are interested to take a look, nothing more and nothing less.” But his advocacy of a streamlined Diet has raised caution among opposition lawmakers.
Yoshitaka Saito, Diet affairs chief of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan in the Senate, has questioned whether reform will be used for “greater disregard for the Diet,” vowing to oppose the moves in the upper house where the ruling coalition lacks a majority.
