Government and ruling parties aim to keep contingency bills for next session

The government and the three ruling (Liberal Democratic, Komei, and Conservative) parties on July 23 agreed to carry over the three contingency bills to the next extraordinary Diet session in autumn.

Kyuma Fumio, head director of the House of Representatives Special Committee on Contingency Legislation from the Liberal Democratic Party and former Defense Agency director general, "briefed" parliamentary controversies on the three bills.

Then, Kyuma suggested that the government exchange opinions with the opposition parties on revising the bills so that they will be smoothly enacted in the next Diet session.

Abe Shinzo, deputy chief cabinet secretary, stated that the government in the next Diet session will show an outline of the bill for sheltering the people. The new bill, according to Akahata of July 24, is aimed at allowing the government to order the public to evacuate, maintain public order and control the economy so that it can give U.S.-led military operations priority in contingencies.

The body of the bill will be submitted to the Diet within two years, as early as possible, together with other bills: one for supporting U.S. Forces activities, the other for dealing with prisoners of war, Abe added.

Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo in an interview with Asahi New Star aired on July 23 pointed out that it is of great significance that the opposition parties managed to block the government attempt to arbitrarily enact the contingency bills in the current Diet session.

At the same time, it must be warned that the attempt has not been foiled yet, Shii stressed.

Recalling that the contingency bills were originated in the U.S. Armitage report of 2000, which urged Japan to legislate wartime laws, Shii emphasized, "So, the Japanese government will never give up railroading them through the Diet, and they will use many tricks to achieve this end in the autumn Diet session."

"Let's make efforts to foil the wartime bills so that the government won't be able to continue discussing them in the next Diet session," Shii added. (end)