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2007 December 5 - 11 [POLITICS]

LDP decides to extend Diet session again

The Liberal Democratic Party has decided to again extend the Diet session, which is currently scheduled to end on December 15, until January 15 in its effort to enact a new anti-terrorism special measures bill to allow the resumption of the Maritime Self-Defense Force refueling mission in the Indian Ocean.

On December 10, LDP Diet Affairs Committee Chair Oshima Tadamori met with Democratic Party Diet Affairs Committee Chair Yamaoka Kenji and asked him to agree on taking a vote on the bill currently under discussion in the House of Councilors. Oshima said the LDP will not push the vote before December 15.

Yamaoka said that the DPJ will refuse the LDP’s request. He also turned down the LDP request to hold an LDP-DPJ secretary generals’ meeting to deal with the current Diet situation.

DPJ Secretary General Hatoyama Yukio also on the same day expressed opposition to the extension of the Diet session.

The current Extraordinary Diet session convened on September 10 had initially been scheduled to end on November 11, but the ruling parties forcibly extended it to December 15 with the aim of enacting the bill. - Akahata, December 11, 2007