通常つうじょう国会こっかい きょう会期かいき末まつ 参院さんいん選せんに向むけて事実じじつ上じょうの選挙せんきょ戦せんへ

The ordinary session of the Diet, held under a minority ruling party, will end on the 22nd.

Each party is effectively entering the election campaign for the House of Councillors election, which is expected to be held next month, and debates are expected to take place over issues such as measures against rising prices.

On Saturday the 21st, which was the day before the end of the Diet session, the House continued deliberations in the House of Councillors Committee on Financial Affairs on a bill submitted by the opposition parties to abolish the provisional gasoline tax rate next month.

Regarding the bill, while the opposition parties are calling for a vote on the 21st, the ruling parties insist on thorough discussions, resulting in a continued deadlock. Amid this, Chairman Miyake of the Liberal Democratic Party declared the meeting adjourned, so the vote was postponed, and the bill will be scrapped at the end of the session.

The regular Diet session convened this January under a minority ruling party has seen a series of unusual developments, starting with the new fiscal years budget being enacted after two rounds of revisions.

Each party will effectively begin their election campaigns for the House of Councillors election, which is expected to be officially announced on the 3rd of next month and held on the 20th, following the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election to be held on the 22nd at the end of the current session.

In the election campaign, debates are expected to take place over measures against rising prices, as well as issues such as how to handle corporate and organizational donations—which were left unresolved in the Diet—and the pros and cons of the selective married surname system, in addition to social security topics like measures against the declining birthrate and pensions.

Furthermore, a major focal point will be whether the ruling party, now a minority in the House of Representatives, can maintain a majority in the House of Councillors this time, or whether the opposition will force them below a majority. This will greatly influence not only the administration of government but also the future political landscape.