August 19, 2022

Five opposition parties and a parliamentary group in the House of Representatives on August 18 jointly submitted a written request to Speaker of the House of Representatives Hosoda Hiroyuki, demanding that an extraordinary session of the Diet be convened swiftly.

This demand was confirmed at a meeting held earlier on the day in the Diet building between the five opposition parties (the Japanese Communist Party, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, the “Reiwa Shinsengumi” party, the Democratic Party for the People, the Social Democratic Party) and the Lower House political group “Yushi no Kai” consisting of independent Lower House members.

The document claims that there is a pile of pressing issues for the parliament to tackle, such as skyrocketing prices, the COVID-19 pandemic’s seventh wave, the planned state funeral for former Prime Minister Abe Shinzo, and the links of Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers and Kishida Cabinet ministers with the cult group Moonies also known as the former Unification Church (currently the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification). It urges the Kishida Cabinet to convene an extraordinary Diet session without delay in accordance with Article 53 of the Constitution.

A similar demand was also made to House of Councilors President Otsuji Hidehisa jointly by the five opposition parties and the two Upper House political groups, Okinawa Whirlwind and Hekisuikai.

Article 53 of the Constitution obligates the Cabinet to convene an extraordinary session of the Diet when it is sought by a quarter or more of the total members of either House.