How should Japan tackle pressing domestic and international challenges? Avoiding explanations to the public will not earn their understanding or agreement.

The ordinary Diet session has begun, and Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba delivered his policy speech, outlining the policies to be pursued this year. This speech serves as an opportunity to present a clear roadmap for the year ahead.

However, the speech lacked specifics and failed to persuade.

The prime minister introduced a catchphrase for nation-building: in the face of population decline, the aim is to create a "joyful Japan" where individuals, rather than the state or corporations, take center stage.

As a key policy to achieve this, he emphasized using regional revitalization to correct the over-concentration of the population in urban areas. Measures to encourage young people and women to settle in rural areas were listed, but many of these were merely rehashed versions of past ideas.

Economic policy was also vague. Ishiba only mentioned supporting "wage increases that can keep up with rising prices," and there was no clear indication of a sincere commitment to fiscal reform.

Proposals from opposition parties, such as the Democratic Party for the People's call to significantly raise the minimum income to pay into the social welfare system so that part-time workers can clock in longer hours while still benefitting from household tax breaks as dependents, or Nippon Ishin (the Japan Innovation Party)'s pledge to make high school tuition free, were not addressed. Similarly, no mention was made of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan's proposal to introduce a selective married surname system.

All of these are expected to be major issues this Diet session.

The problem of "money in politics" also received insufficient attention. Instead of rushing to close the matter, which sparked so much anger in the wake of the slush fund scandal in Ishiba's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, the prime minister should make a decisive move to ban corporate and organizational donations capable of distorting policymaking.

On diplomacy, no strategy was presented for dealing with President Donald Trump's "America First" policies, despite this being the most significant foreign policy challenge.

For this minority government, the current Diet session is a critical test. Without cooperation from opposition parties that collectively hold a majority in the House of Representatives, passing measures crucial to people's livelihoods like next year's budget will be impossible.

Ishiba urged opposition parties, which are demanding tax cuts and increased spending, to engage in "responsible deliberation," referencing concerns about funding sources. If this is what he really wants, however, the government must first clarify its policy measures and discuss the topics in the open Diet. If the government prioritizes negotiations with certain opposition parties for Diet vote numbers over policy clarity, meaningful deliberation will remain elusive.

The government must clearly articulate its vision, incorporate diverse perspectives, and work toward consensus. This is the leadership expected from the prime minister in a "deliberative Diet."