In parliamentary questioning Monday, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba was grilled over issues ranging from the Liberal Democratic Party’s approach to political reform and his stance on social issues to the content of a supplementary budget.

Ishiba reiterated his skepticism about abolishing corporate donations to political parties — a matter the ruling and opposition parties are set to debate in the coming months — and, instead, stressed the importance of boosting transparency on the handling of political funding and allowing people to freely express their political beliefs through monetary donations.

Answering questions from Yoshihiko Noda, leader of the opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, Ishiba said his party will work to present a bill on political reform in the coming weeks while engaging in negotiations with opposition parties.