Japan Opposition to Return to Upper House Debates Tues.

Tokyo, July 6 (Jiji Press)–Japanese opposition parties in the House of Councillors agreed Monday to return to debates Tuesday to normalize proceedings at the upper chamber of the Diet, the country’s parliament, after the ruling Liberal Democratic Party accepted their demands. Yoshihiko Isozaki, the LDP’s Diet affairs chief in the Upper House, met with Yoshitaka Saito, parliamentary affairs head of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, the biggest opposition party in the upper chamber, earlier in the day. Isozaki said the ruling side, accepting the opposition demands, decided to hold intensive discussions at the Upper House Budget Committee with participation by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and a Diet debate among political party heads including Takaichi, president of the LDP, during the current Diet session, slated to end July 17. Following the ruling bloc move, Diet affairs chiefs of six opposition parties in the Upper House met and agreed to attend the chamber’s deliberations Tuesday and later. Earlier on Monday, Takaichi met with Masaji Matsuyama, leader of LDP lawmakers in the upper chamber, and indicated her intention to attend parliamentary discussions. At the day’s meeting of the Audit Committee of the Upper House, Takaichi said she would attend Diet debates and answer questions if requested. Of all bills submitted by the government during the current Diet session, 17 have not been enacted yet. In the Upper House, deliberations have stalled due to the opposition camp’s demands for intensive Budget Committee deliberations and a party leader debate. Isozaki and Saito also confirmed that a special committee will be set up for discussions on a bill to revise the Imperial House Law. Opposition parties, including the Centrist Reform Alliance, have boycotted deliberations also in the House of Representatives, the lower chamber, demanding that the ruling side give up the enactment of bills to reduce the number of Lower House seats and establish a secondary capital of the nation. Saito told the press that opposition parties in both chambers “will unite to demand the withdrawal (of the bills).” Diet affairs chiefs of opposition parties in the upper and lower chambers will meet Tuesday to discuss their responses. The ruling and opposition chiefs of the board of the Lower House Committee on Rules and Administration also met on Monday. Hideki Murai of the LDP, the ruling side chief, called for a meeting of the board to be held regarding deliberations on the Imperial House Law amendment. But his opposition counterpart, Yasuhiro Nakagawa of the CRA, rejected the request. The Japan Innovation Party, the coalition partner of the LDP, is calling for an extension of the current Diet session to ensure the passage of the Lower House seat reduction and secondary capital bills. JIP Secretary-General Hiroshi Nakatsuka met with his LDP counterpart, Shunichi Suzuki, on Monday. Nakatsuka told reporters later that there is no change in the JIP’s intention to “continue efforts until the last minute” to pass the bills. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]