Diet to be extended to Dec. 25

TOKYO, Nov. 26 Kyodo - The government and ruling parties have decided to extend the current extraordinary Diet session for 25 days to Dec. 25 beyond its scheduled end on Sunday with a view to passing an antiterrorism refueling bill, ruling party lawmakers said Wednesday.

The extension will enable the ruling coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party
and the New Komeito party to hold a second vote in the lower house and ram
through the bill to continue the refueling mission in the Indian Ocean without
approval by the upper house, which is controlled by opposition parties.
Under the Constitution, the more powerful House of Representatives can hold a
revote to pass a bill if the upper house rejects it or holds no vote within 60
days of receiving the bill.
On a bill to bolster the banking sector, the ruling coalition will be able to
hold a second vote after Jan. 5 if the main opposition Democratic Party of
Japan refuses to hold a vote in the upper house.
The ruling bloc will extend the session to after Jan. 5, if the DPJ refuses to
hold a vote in the upper house, the lawmakers said.
The ruling parties expect the DPJ is unlikely to continue refusing to hold a
vote on the financial bill by taking into account deteriorating economic
conditions, they said.
The ruling coalition will be able to pass it by using its two-thirds majority
in the lower house during the extended session if the opposition bloc votes
down the bill in the upper house.
The two bills are currently under deliberation in the opposition-led House of
Councillors.
Prime Minister Taro Aso told the upper house plenary session Wednesday the
government intends to enact the second extra budget for fiscal 2008 through
next March by submitting it to the regular session.
If the current Diet session ends before the yearend, the regular session is
likely to be convened on Jan. 5, while the session is expected to be convened
on either Jan. 7 or Jan. 8 if the current session is extended through the next
year, the lawmakers said.
The second extra budget would finance an economic stimulus package worth 26.9
trillion yen, unveiled by Aso on Oct. 30, to cushion the negative impact of the
global financial crisis on people's livelihoods.
On dissolution of the lower house for a general election, Aso only said, ''I
would like to make a decision by taking into consideration various factors.''
Later in the day, Aso told reporters he welcomes a parliamentary debate between
himself and DPJ leader Ichiro Ozawa to be held Friday. The debate is likely to
focus on the timing of the submission of the second extra budget.
''It is most important to openly discuss our differences of opinion in front of
everyone,'' Aso said.