Japan to Convene Ordinary Diet Session Jan. 23

Tokyo, Jan. 13 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara informed the Diet on Tuesday that this year’s ordinary session of the parliament will be convened Jan. 23. The top government spokesman made the notification at board meetings of the steering committees of both Diet chambers. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, also president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, is reportedly considering dissolving the House of Representatives, the all-important lower chamber of the Diet, at the start of the ordinary session for a general election. If the Lower House is dissolved, parliamentary deliberations on the government’s fiscal 2026 draft budget would be carried over to a special Diet session to be convened after the general election, making its enactment by the March 31 end of fiscal 2025 difficult. At the steering committee meetings, the LDP and its coalition partner, the Japan Innovation Party, did not present opposition parties with a schedule for the second and subsequent days of the ordinary Diet session, including the prime minister’s policy address. Asked by the opposition side about a potential Lower House breakup, Kihara said, “It is a matter solely within the prime minister’s authority.” Also on Tuesday, Hiroshi Kajiyama, the LDP’s Diet affairs chief, and his JIP counterpart, Takashi Endo, held a meeting in parliament. Kajiyama told reporters after the meeting: “We have not received any specific instructions (related to a Lower House breakup). We affirmed that the ruling parties will continue working together.” The ordinary Diet session is slated to run for 150 days through June 21. If the Lower House is not dissolved at the start of the session, the government plans to submit 61 bills, including legislation to establish a council to discuss measures to strengthen Japan’s capabilities to gather and analyze intelligence. A special Diet session in the event of a Lower House breakup will be convened within 30 days of a snap general election. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]