Japan’s regular Parliament Session from January 4

Tokyo, Dec 15: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s Cabinet on Tuesday approved a proposal to convene parliament on January 4, 2016, for a 150-day regular session.

“To appropriately respond to challenges (facing the nation), we will compile a fiscal 2015 supplementary budget and a fiscal 2016 budget and take other measures during the ordinary Diet (parliament) session to be convened January 4,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said.

It will be the earliest that an ordinary legislative session has been convened since a 1992 revision of the Diet law made it customary to start sessions in January, the Japan Times reported. With an Upper House election scheduled for mid-2016, it is unlikely the session will be extended beyond its planned June 1, 2016, deadline.

In a meeting on Monday between executives from the Rules and Administration Committees of both chambers, Suga said the administration will submit to the Diet on January 4 a supplementary budget for the current fiscal year to March 31 and a budget for the next fiscal year. (IANS)