LDP Forgoes Seeking Election Poster Curbs This Diet Session

Tokyo, Dec. 16 (Jiji Press)--The ruling Liberal Democratic Party decided Monday not to seek a public offices election law revision to ban inappropriate election posters during the current session of the Diet, Japan's parliament.

Earlier this month, the secretaries-general of the LDP and its junior coalition partner, Komeito, agreed to realize the revision during the extraordinary Diet session, set to end on Saturday.

But the LDP judged that it is difficult to form a consensus among ruling and opposition parties before the end of the session and decided to push back the matter until the ordinary Diet session to be convened next month, sources said.

The LDP discussed details of the revision with four opposition parties including the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, after inappropriate posters such as those depicting an almost fully naked woman and an advertisement for a sex services shop were displayed during this summer's Tokyo gubernatorial election.

Ichiro Aisawa, chairman of the LDP's Research Commission on the Election System, told reporters Monday that the October general election of the House of Representatives has made it necessary to coordinate with parties such as the Conservative Party of Japan, which won seats in the all-important lower chamber for the first time.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]