The extraordinary Diet session that starts Friday will run 67 days to Dec. 9, according to a senior ruling party lawmaker.
During the session, the government plans to seek approval for a Japan-U.S. trade agreement reached last week to cut tariffs on farm and industrial goods.
The ruling and opposition parties are also expected to take up the consumption tax hike and its impact on the economy.
Because the session is the first since the Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito secured a solid win in the Upper House election in July, the focus will also be on whether the ruling coalition can move forward Diet debate on amending the pacifist Constitution for the first time since it took effect in 1947.
“In the upcoming Diet session, we hope to fulfill our mandate given in the Upper House election,” LDP Secretary-General Toshihiro Nikai said at a news conference Monday.
On constitutional reform, Nikai said cooperation from each party is necessary for debate on the matter to progress. Pro-amendment forces, including the LDP, lost the two-thirds majority needed to begin the revision process in the Upper House following the July election, though they have such a majority in the Lower House.
[“source=japantimes”]