Japan's parliament will convene a 150-day ordinary session from Jan. 26, lawmakers said Tuesday, with revelations related to a secret slush fund scandal still likely plaguing the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi conveyed the schedule, planned by the ruling bloc and the government, to the steering committees of both chambers of the Diet. Unless extended, the regular session will conclude on June 23.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's government seeks to pass a draft budget for the fiscal year starting in April, which includes increased reserve funds for support and reconstruction following the powerful earthquake that struck the Sea of Japan coast on New Year's Day.
Once the parliament opens, opposition parties are set to grill Kishida, who heads the LDP, over allegations that its biggest faction is suspected of having failed to report hundreds of millions of yen in revenue from fundraising parties to accumulate slush funds.
The scandal has pushed the approval ratings for Kishida's Cabinet to their lowest level since he took the leadership in October 2021, fueling speculation that he may step down immediately after the draft budget is endorsed as early as in March.
The government is arranging to submit 58 bills, including one enabling income and residence tax cuts, one of the major pillars of the economic package mapped out by the Kishida government late last year, ruling party sources said.
As part of efforts to mitigate the negative impact of rising prices on households, the government has pledged to implement temporary tax cuts of 40,000 yen ($274.2) per person.
Among other key bills is one aimed at creating a "security clearance" system that restricts access to classified government data to certain individuals to prevent critical information from leaking to overseas entities, according to the sources.
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