Japan Press Weekly

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2013 September 25 - October 1 [POLITICS]

5 opposition parties jointly call for Diet session to be convened

Five opposition parties on September 25 jointly submitted a statement to Upper House President Yamazaki Masaaki, demanding a swift convening of an extraordinary Diet session.

The five parties are the Japanese Communist, Democratic, Your, People’s Life, and Social Democratic parties.

The statement argues, “Pressing issues for the parliament to tackle are piling up,” such as the leaking of radiation-contaminated water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant, the consumption tax hike, multinational negotiations of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade pact, measures to be taken against natural disaster, and Syria’s situation. It urges the Abe Cabinet to immediately hold a Diet session in accordance with Article 53 of the Constitution.

The article requires the cabinet to convoke a Diet session if such a demand is made by a quarter or more of the total members of the either House. The statement is supported by 92 House of Councilors members, more than a quarter of the Upper House.

On the previous day, senior officials of the five parties approved the joint statement at a meeting in Tokyo.

At the meeting, a representative of the Japan Restoration Party stated that the party cannot support the statement unless it states that the request is not intended to interrupt the government’s diplomatic schedule.

Meanwhile, other parties’ representatives argued that the government can hold a Diet session while proceeding with its planned diplomatic events. JCP Secretariat Head Ichida Tadayoshi criticized the government for delaying a convocation of a Diet session by saying that it has to conduct diplomatic activities.

As a result, the JRP decided not to take part in the joint effort.