Japan Upper House Begins Debate on Secondary Capital Bill

Tokyo, July 22 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s House of Councillors, the upper chamber of the Diet, or parliament, began deliberations Wednesday on a bill to establish a secondary capital of the nation that would assume core government functions during major disasters. An outline of the bill was explained at a meeting of a relevant Upper House special committee. The bill, submitted to the Diet by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its ally, the Japan Innovation Party, is the most contentious item remaining in the extended Diet session, which runs through Saturday. The coalition aims to enact the legislation Friday, while opposition parties argue that the bill contains many flaws and have vowed to block its passage. LDP lawmaker Kazuo Yana, one of the bill’s sponsors, said it would “also contribute to more geographically dispersed national development in line with regional revitalization efforts.” Fellow LDP member Eikei Suzuki said the bill’s provisions on tax incentives and other measures to encourage companies to relocate are “also intended to attract facilities such as data centers.” Joint deliberations by the special committee and the Upper House Committee on General Affairs, and hearings with expert witnesses are planned Thursday. As committee deliberations continue, the ruling coalition is courting independent lawmakers in preparation for a vote on the bill at a plenary meeting of the Upper House, where it lacks a majority. On Wednesday, the special committee also heard an outline of a counterproposal submitted by the opposition Democratic Party for the People, which calls for establishing “special cities.” END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]