Kishida reveals plan to convene extra Diet session in October

Jiji Press

11:45 JST, September 16, 2022

TOKYO (Jiji Press) — Prime Minister Fumio Kishida unveiled a plan on Thursday to convene the Diet for an extraordinary session in October.

“Looking ahead, there will be the U.N. General Assembly session and the state funeral [for former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe], and an extraordinary Diet session is slated for next month,” Kishida said at a meeting of his faction within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.

“There are mountains of major issues at home and abroad that could really mark a new era,” Kishida said. “I will work to live up to the mandate of the people with a renewed sense of tension.”

The government and the ruling parties are looking at a proposal to start the extra session on Oct. 3 for a two-month run until early December.

LDP policy chief Koichi Hagiuda told a party meeting later on Thursday that 20 bills are scheduled to be submitted during the upcoming session.

The government plans to submit bills to revise the infectious disease law to prepare for future pandemics and to revise the Public Office Election Law to rezone House of Representatives constituencies.