Diet to convene 150-day regular session from Jan 23

Tokyo, 15 January, /AJMEDIA/

The government on Friday approved a plan to convene Japan’s parliament for a 150-day ordinary session from Jan 23, with ruling and opposition parties expected to clash in debates over policies such as boosting defense spending and extending the life of nuclear reactors ahead of nationwide local elections in spring.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno conveyed the schedule to senior members of the steering committees of both chambers before the cabinet’s approval. Unless extended, the regular session will run through June 21.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is scheduled to deliver a policy speech on the opening day and take questions from representatives of each party from Jan 25.

That will be followed by deliberations on the state budget for fiscal 2023 starting in April. The government and ruling bloc led by the Liberal Democratic Party aim to pass the budget within the current fiscal year.

The government plans to submit 61 bills, including one to secure funds for a planned expansion of the national defense budget.

Kishida’s government decided in December to boost defense spending by updating three key defense policy documents, including the National Security Strategy, amid an increasingly severe regional security environment.

Other key bills include one related to controversial revisions to immigration law the government withdrew in 2021 amid a backlash from opposition parties and another to allow aging nuclear reactors to operate beyond their current 60-year lifespan, government sources said.

The leading opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and the second-largest Japan Innovation Party have agreed to cooperate in deliberations in parliament to take on Kishida’s administration over a plan to raise taxes to finance an increase in defense spending.

The ruling and opposition parties are set to face off in the upcoming unified local elections in April, such as those for governors and regional assembly members, as well as several by-elections to fill vacant seats in the House of Representatives.

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