Japan Upper House to Begin Secondary Capital Bill Debate Wed.

Tokyo, July 21 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s ruling and opposition parties agreed Tuesday to begin House of Councillors deliberations Wednesday on a bill to establish a secondary capital of the nation. The bill will be examined by an Upper House special committee that is chaired by a lawmaker from the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, the biggest opposition party in the upper chamber of the Diet, or parliament. The legislation cleared the House of Representatives, the lower chamber, last week. The CDP demanded four measures, including hearings with expert witnesses. The ruling Liberal Democratic Party, which is eager to secure the bill’s enactment during the current Diet session, accepted the demands to ensure smooth Upper House deliberations. At a meeting with Yoshihiko Isozaki, the LDP’s parliamentary affairs chief in the Upper House, on Tuesday, Yoshitaka Saito, the CDP’s Diet affairs head, sought joint discussions with the Upper House’s General Affairs Committee, a supplementary resolution to the bill and an explanation of costs associated with the establishment of a secondary capital, in addition to the witness hearings. Isozaki accepted all four demands and proposed holding a vote on the bill at the special committee Thursday. The two sides agreed to continue consultations. Later on Tuesday, senior ruling coalition and opposition members of the special committee agreed to begin deliberations Wednesday and hold the witness hearings and joint committee discussions Thursday. In addition to the bill, jointly sponsored by the LDP and its coalition partner, the Japan Innovation Party, two counterproposals submitted by opposition parties will be discussed at the special committee. The current Diet session, originally scheduled to end last Friday, has been extended through Saturday. The ruling camp aims to enact the bill at an Upper House plenary meeting Friday. Because Thursday’s schedule is expected to be tight, the committee vote could be delayed into Friday, a senior LDP official said. In that case, the bill would likely be brought to the plenary meeting later than day. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]