JCP criticizes DPJ for arbitrarily extending Diet session

Japan Press Weekly

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

JCP criticizes DPJ for arbitrarily extending Diet session

As the current session of the Diet reached its final day on November 30, the three ruling parties - the Democratic, Social Democratic, and New People’s parties - used their majority to extend the current extraordinary session of the Diet by four days.

In the Plenary Session of the House of Representatives, the opposition Japanese Communist and Komei parties voted against the ruling parties’ proposal. The Liberal Democratic Party abstained from voting.

At a news conference on the same day, JCP Secretariat Head Ichida Tadayoshi gave the following two reasons for his party’s opposition to the extension proposal:

(1) Fundamentally, the government was compelled to extend the Diet session after repeating its arbitrary steering of the Diet, by, for example, setting the date of the vote on the bill to encourage financial institutions to ease loan conditions for small- and medium-sized businesses as well as individuals before listening to experts at a committee hearing. The DPJ has not admitted that such a steering of the diet was inappropriate. The LDP is also responsible for its negative attitude of refusing to attend the Diet session discussing the bill.

(2) The DPJ lacks the will to have the bill discussed carefully before reaching a conclusion. Equally, it is unacceptable that the DPJ refuses to take up the question of “politics and money” in an intensive session.

Ichida added, “The JCP maintains that those bills that have a vital bearing on people’s livelihoods should be dealt with carefully as agreed on by all parties.

- Akahata, December 1, 2009