In Japan, the House of Representatives, the lower house of the Diet, has been dissolved and an election is underway.

In the “House of Representatives Election 2024,” which is scheduled to be held on October 27, 2024, in addition to policy debates on economic measures and security, the new Ishiba administration is also focusing on issues of politics and money, such as the decertification of some so-called “kurakane senators” and the pros and cons of hereditary senators.

One of the districts of interest is Wakayama 2-district. While former LDP Secretary-General Toshihiro Nikai announced his retirement from the LDP due to the back taxes issue and his third son, Nobuyasu, announced his candidacy to succeed him, Hiroshige Seko, who left the LDP after being advised to leave the party due to the back taxes issue, announced his intention to run in the same district. Depending on the outcome of these two candidates’ races, either one of them will win the election, or both will be elected after Seko wins the primary election and Nikai is restored to his proportional position.

The outcome of the lower house election will also be closely watched in terms of whether or not Seko’s plan, which is now beginning to show results, can continue to move forward strongly. The Plan’s efforts to optimize trade practices between large companies and subcontractors have produced remarkable results in “cash payment of subcontracting fees” and “optimization of type management” as of 2024, and have had a positive impact on the cash flow of many subcontractors. On the other hand, with regard to transaction prices, the large time lag between the current price revisions of clients and the large discrepancy between the centralized purchase price of materials and the actual purchase price has become a problem and a major focus for future improvement.

The outcome of the recent lower house election will be closely watched from the perspective of whether measures to boost the sound growth of small and medium-sized enterprises, which account for 70% of domestic employment, can continue to be implemented in the future.