The following is the gist of interpellations at the House of Representatives Budget Committee on Jan. 26:   Relations with the U.S.   Itsunori Onodera (Liberal Democratic Party): Will Japan be able to protect the five sensitive agricultural sectors if the U.S. demands bilateral economic negotiations?   Prime Minister Shinzo Abe: Concluding a free trade agreement (FTA) or an economic….Read more

The following is the gist of representative interpellations by the political parties at the House of Councillors on Jan. 25:

The following is the gist of representative interpellations at the House of Councillors and House of Representatives plenary sessions on Jan. 24:

Constitutional revision to introduce free college education has emerged as an issue ahead of the ruling and opposition parties’ debate on constitutional amendment in the current Diet session. Nippon Ishin [Japan Innovation Party] has been advocating free tertiary education, including university education, and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (Liberal Democratic Party [LDP] president) appears to be amenable to this idea. It….Read more

The following is the gist of representative interpellations at the House of Representatives plenary session on Jan. 23:

A heated debate on foreign policy unfolded during representative interpellations at the House of Representatives on Jan. 23. While foreign affairs is regarded as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s forte, the Democratic Party (DP) decided to focus its attack on this area in light of U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement of his nation’s withdrawal from the TPP and other negative factors. Abe….Read more

The 2017 regular Diet session has kicked off. Among the key points of contention during the session will be the fiscal 2017 state budget draft, development of legislation based on Emperor Akihito’s wish to abdicate and the debate on establishing “conspiracy” charges.   This regular session will be a venue where the overall policies of the government of Prime Minister….Read more

All Saturday morning papers reported that Prime Minister Abe delivered a policy speech in the Diet on Friday to mark the start of the ordinary Diet session, during which he expressed hope to further strengthen the alliance with the U.S. under the Trump administration. Nikkei said the premier started his speech with a message to incoming President Trump, in which….Read more

TOKYO, Jan. 20, Kyodo — The following is the gist of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s policy speech at the opening of the ordinary Diet session Friday.   — The position of the Japan-U.S. alliance as the linchpin of Japanese foreign policy and security is an “unchanging principle.”   — Abe will seek to hold bilateral talks as soon as possible….Read more