Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said Monday that the trusting relationship between her Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner, the Japan Innovation Party, is solid, describing it as “unwavering,” despite the rocky relationship over a seat reduction bill that was shelved in the parliamentary session that ended over the weekend.

“The JIP made a heavy decision to join the coalition with the LDP last October, when the party was in a vulnerable position after Komeito left the coalition,” said Takaichi in a news conference marking the end of the Diet session. “The relationship of trust with the JIP is unwavering.”

She declined to comment directly on the possibility of a coalition with the opposition’s Democratic Party for the People. But she added, “I cannot promote strong economic, diplomatic and security policies without a stable political (environment), so I am always thinking of what needs to be done to achieve that.”