The government and ruling parties started on June 3 making arrangements for a plan to convene an extraordinary Diet session in late September. The extra session will likely be convened in late September as usual in consideration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s diplomatic schedule even though the government and ruling coalition looked into the possibility of starting an extra session as early as possible for deliberation on bills including one to postpone for two and a half years the consumption tax increase to 10% planned for April 2017 and one to ratify the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade agreement.

Prior to this, another extra Diet session will be held for a couple of days to select president of the House of Councillors in early August after the Upper House election.

The government and ruling coalition are expected to submit a bill on a second supplementary budget, including economic stimulus measures, to the extra session in the autumn. During the regular Diet session, which ended on June 1, the confrontation between the ruling and opposition camps over the biggest bone of contention, the TPP agreement and related legislation, intensified. As a result, the government and ruling coalition gave up on passing those bills, which were carried over to the next session.

Although there are many important bills, including the consumption tax hike bill and related legislation, the government and ruling camp intend to convene the extra Diet session in late September because about 24 hours have been spent for deliberations on the TPP approval bill and Abe’s diplomatic schedule will be tight in mid-September.