Extra Diet to start Sept. 24, Fukuda's successor to be picked+

TOKYO, Sept. 12 Kyodo - An extraordinary Diet session will convene Sept. 24 for a 68-day run, with a vote set for the same day to choose the new prime minister who will succeed Yasuo Fukuda, the ruling camp told opposition parties Friday.

But the government and the ruling parties are seeking a House of
Representatives election possibly in early October, after the new prime
minister delivers a policy speech and receives questions from party
representatives.
The session will follow the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's presidential
election Sept. 22, in which the winner is expected to become prime minister due
to the LDP's majority in the lower house. The lower house has final say on the
choice of the prime minister.
The LDP and the New Komeito party, its junior coalition partner, conveyed the
session schedule to the opposition parties during a meeting of Diet affairs
chiefs, party lawmakers said.
The ruling parties also said they are hoping to have the new prime minister
deliver a policy speech to the Diet on Sept. 29, after attending a U.N. General
Assembly session.
As for the reason to convene the extra session, the ruling parties cited the
need to enact a supplementary state budget for the current fiscal year and pass
bills, including one to extend Japan's refueling mission to support U.S.-led
antiterrorism operations in and around Afghanistan.
The opposition parties called for the ruling camp to swiftly hold a question
session by party representatives as well as Budget Committee meetings, saying
the new prime minister should explain his or her ideas in parliament.
The extraordinary Diet session was initially scheduled to be convened Friday
but was postponed due to Fukuda's abrupt resignation announcement on Sept. 1.
Fukuda has been struggling to seek a breakthrough in the divided Diet in which
the opposition parties led by the Democratic Party of Japan control the House
of Councillors.