Tensions intensify over possible dissolution of Lower House

September 22, 2017

TOKYO- Political tensions in Japan intensified further on Friday over a reported plan by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to dissolve the House of Representatives next week for a snap election in October.

Abe is expected to dissolve the Lower House at the beginning of an extraordinary parliamentary session, a move strongly resisted by opposition parties.

The steering committees of both chambers of parliament received a notice from Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga on Friday that the parliamentary session will be convened on Thursday.

Opposition parties are asking that sufficient deliberations take place during the extraordinary session before the Lower House is dissolved. In particular, they are demanding policy speeches by the prime minister and related question-and-answer sessions.

The main opposition Democratic Party boycotted the steering committee meetings in protest against the possible Lower House dissolution at the beginning of the parliamentary session.

The Abe administration lacks respect for parliament, Yorihisa Matsuno, the DP's parliamentary affairs chief, told reporters.

At least proposed resolutions that condemn North Korea's repeated provocations should be adopted during the extraordinary session, Matsuno said. The adoption of the resolutions is now unlikely, sources familiar with the situation said. Jiji Press