Then Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, right, delivers a policy speech during a House of Representatives plenary session on Jan. 18, 2021. (Mainichi/Kan Takeuchi)

       The Mainichi Shimbun answers some common questions readers may have about the ordinary Diet session convened at the beginning of the year in Japan.

       Question: An ordinary session of the Diet will start soon, right?

       Answer: Yes. The upcoming ordinary Diet session will be convened on Jan. 17, and is the first held since the establishment of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's administration. Japan's Constitution stipulates that a regular Diet session be convened once a year.

       Q: How long will the ordinary Diet session last?

       A: The Diet Act specifies that an ordinary session term is 150 days, and the upcoming session will run until June 15. While ordinary Diet sessions can be extended, it is believed that the regular session this year will end on schedule as a House of Councillors election will be held this summer. The terms of half of the upper house members up for election this year end on July 25, and the Public Offices Election Act states that an upper house election must take place within 30 days before the day their terms end. The Japanese government and ruling parties plan to set the election day on July 10, and this makes it difficult to extend the Diet session.

       Q: What is carried out during ordinary Diet sessions?

       A: First, the prime minister gives a policy speech which explains the basic policies for the government concerning state affairs over the coming year. This is followed by sessions where leaders of each political party ask questions regarding the speech. The lawmakers usually then move on to budget discussions. In years with national elections and other major events, only a limited number of days can be set aside for budgetary debate. Therefore, the Cabinet tends to reduce the number of new bills it submits to the Diet, and during the upcoming session, it is estimated to submit 61 bills, down by two compared to last year.

       Q: What will be debated during the upcoming session?

       A: The government's core policies, including a bill to establish a "children and families agency," which will centralize the administration of child-related policies, and a bill regarding Japan's economic security policies, are set to be under discussion. In the budget committee session, the government's handling of the coronavirus's omicron variant cases will likely be called into question. Whether substantive debate will pick up speed at the upper and lower houses' commissions on the Constitution is another focal point.

       (Japanese original by Minami Nomaguchi, Political News Department)

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