Government and ruling parties agree to extend Diet session

Japan Press Weekly

Japan Press Service Co., Ltd. is the only news agency providing information of progressive, democratic movements in Japan

Government and ruling parties agree to extend Diet session

Prime Minister Aso Taro said that the government and the ruling parties agreed to extend the current Extraordinary Session of the Diet, which is due to end on November 30, and to submit a bill on another supplementary budget in the next Ordinary Session of the Diet due to open in January.

Prime Minister Aso Taro made the remark on November 25 following a meeting with leaders of the ruling Liberal Democratic and Komei parties.

Arguing that early passage of the bill to extend the new Anti-Terrorism Special Measures Law and the bill to allow the government to inject public funds into financial institutions is important, Aso said, “I will decide on the extension of the Diet session on November 28, after discussing the issue with the governing parties.”

Later in the day, LDP Diet Affairs Committee Chair Oshima Tadamori had a meeting with Japanese Communist Party Diet Policy Commission Chair Kokuta Keiji, and said, “If opposition parties do not agree to put these two bills to a vote by the end of the current Diet session, the session will have to be extended.”

Kokuta told Oshima that the two bills, which Oshima said are important, should be scrapped and that the JCP is opposed to extension of the Diet session if it is aimed at having these two bills enacted.

He said, “Under the current economic downturn, we should use the remainder of the current Diet session to discuss ways to boost the economy, including an intensive discussion on issues of employment in the Budget Committee.” The Diet also should hold a hearing with executives of automakers as witnesses.

The Diet affairs committee chairs at a meeting on the same day agreed to oppose the ruling parties’ plan to extend the Diet session. The Democratic Party explained it is opposed to the extension because the Aso Cabinet has not submitted their supplementary budget bill.

At a news conference after the meeting, Kokuta said, “The government plans to include the cash handouts plan in its supplementary budget plan. As the JCP is against such a cash handout plan, it is not in a position to call on the government to submit a supplementary budget bill. ? Akahata, November 26, 2008