TOKYO, June 24 (Xinhua) -- Five major Japanese opposition parties on Wednesday reiterated their demands for parliament to thoroughly discuss a smear video scandal involving Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and her election team, after reports emerged alleging that one of Takaichi's secretaries had participated in creating and spreading defamatory videos targeting rival candidates during election campaigns, local media reported.
According to Jiji Press, the opposition parties called for the secretary in question to appear before lawmakers as an unsworn witness, for the House of Representatives Budget Committee to convene intensive deliberations on the scandal, and for political party leaders to hold a debate on the matter in July.
The five opposition parties include the Centrist Reform Alliance, the Democratic Party for the People, the Sanseito, the Japanese Communist Party, and Team Mirai.
Their requests were conveyed to Hiroshi Kajiyama, parliamentary affairs chief of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, the report said. ■
