Takashi Asano responds to criticism on Twitter: Refusal to hold press conference causes discontent, attended deliberations for only four hours

Tagami Asana's Twitter Governance: "No Press Conference for Over Two Months," Growing Discontent

On April 5, Japanese Prime Minister Asana Tagami posted on Twitter: "Frankly speaking, there have been far too many reports recently that completely contradict the facts—this is truly regrettable."

A netizen replied: "Then why don't you just hold a press conference?"

Responding to media coverage regarding rejected concentrated deliberations and shortages of naphtha, Prime Minister Tagami pushed back on certain reports via social media.

On April 5, Prime Minister Asana Tagami (65) made the above statement in a tweet.

The incident originated from media coverage surrounding the delayed concentrated deliberation in the National Diet’s Budget Committee.

Due to the dissolution of the House of Representatives in January, budget deliberations were postponed by about one month. Nevertheless, Tagami remained determined to pass the new fiscal year’s budget within the current fiscal year. With her ruling party holding three-quarters of the seats in the House of Representatives, she leveraged their numerical advantage to push through the budget. However, in the House of Councillors, her party lacked a majority, forcing her to accommodate opposition parties’ demands for sufficient deliberation time. Consequently, a temporary budget was created to bridge the gap until the formal budget could be established.

Additionally, on April 1, opposition parties requested Prime Minister Tagami attend the scheduled concentrated deliberation in the House of Councillors on the 3rd. This request was rejected by Iwazaki Hitoshi, Chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party’s House of Councillors Policy Committee.

After media outlets reported the incident under headlines such as “LDP Refuses Prime Minister Tagami’s Attendance at Deliberation – Budget May Not Pass Within Fiscal Year, Possibly Extended into Second Week,” criticism against Tagami’s passive approach to attending the concentrated deliberations intensified on social platforms.

Under this context, Tagami updated her Twitter post on April 5:

"Reports claiming I have no intention of attending the House of Councillors Budget Committee’s concentrated deliberation are entirely false. It seems some individuals have also voiced opinions based on misinformation in the media—I would like to clarify the facts briefly here."

She explained:

"Regarding the committee’s schedule and my personal attendance, I have clearly stated: 'The schedule will be decided through consultation between the committee chairperson and party whips from both sides; if requested, I will attend Diet sessions.' I have also conveyed this stance to LDP House of Councillors officials."

Tagami had held summit talks with Indonesian President Prabowo on March 31 and French President Emmanuel Macron the following day. In this post, she wrote:

"Perhaps it was misunderstood that I previously asked the Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary to coordinate scheduling to avoid conflicts between the Budget Committee testimony and the summit meetings."

She concluded with the opening statement.

Even during a Diet session on March 30, when media reports claimed she had no intention of attending the concentrated deliberation, Tagami had already denied it, stating it was not true.

Although she expressed strong dissatisfaction with these series of reports, it cannot be denied that her actual attendance time at the concentrated deliberations has been exceptionally short.

According to political reporters:

"Historical attendance duration by prime ministers at the House of Councillors' concentrated deliberation on the new fiscal year’s budget:

Former Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga (77): approximately 24 hours,

Former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (68): average around 27 hours,

Former Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba (69): approximately 40 hours.

As of April 2, Prime Minister Tagami had attended only 4 hours.

At a House of Councillors Budget Committee session on March 30, DPJ member Takae Ito (50) pointed out based on these figures: 'This is precisely why the Prime Minister is accused of refusing to attend the concentrated deliberation.'

Although Prime Minister Tagami did attend the concentrated deliberation in the House of Councillors Budget Committee on April 6, the total duration still fell short of 10 hours.

Tagami’s rebuttals extend beyond issues related to concentrated deliberations.

On April 4, during a television program, representatives from the business sector warned about the worsening situation in the Middle East leading to naphtha shortages: "If this continues, Japan will certainly face difficulties after June."

In response, Tagami emphasized on Twitter on April 5: