Japan Extra Diet Session Likely to Begin Oct. 24

October 12, 2018

Tokyo- Japan's government and the Liberal Democratic Party-led ruling coalition plan to convene an extraordinary session of the Diet, the country's parliament, on Oct. 24, informed sources said Thursday.

The government is set to submit a draft of a fiscal 2018 supplementary budget for financing projects to reconstruct areas devastated by a recent series of natural disasters, the sources said.

The extra Diet session is likely to run for about 50 days through early December, the sources said.

On the opening day of the session, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is expected to deliver a policy speech at plenary meetings of both chambers of the Diet.

Question-and-answer sessions for Abe's speech are seen taking place on Oct. 29-31, after the prime minister returns from his planned trip to China, according to the sources.

During the trip, which comes as Japan and China mark the 40th anniversary this month of the entry into force of their peace and friendship treaty, Abe hopes to hold talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Other major items for discussion during the extraordinary Diet session will include a bill to revise the immigration control law in order to create new residence status aimed at accepting more foreign workers, the sources said.

Attention will also likely be paid to the course of debates on possible constitutional amendments, pundits said.

This will be the first Diet session since Abe reshuffled his cabinet on Oct. 2. Jiji Press