Japan's parliament convened a 150-day ordinary session on Friday, with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida set to be grilled over a political fundraising scandal that has continued to rattle his ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
During the Diet session through June 23, the government's response to a powerful earthquake in central Japan on New Year's Day is also likely to be a key agenda item, as the disaster-hit areas will accelerate efforts toward reconstruction, lawmakers said.
The government and the ruling bloc are seeking an early passage of a draft budget for the fiscal year starting in April worth 112.57 trillion yen ($762 billion), which was increased in the wake of the quake that hit the Noto Peninsula on the Sea of Japan coast.
The parliamentary session, meanwhile, kicked off as the LDP has drawn harsh criticism amid allegations that some of its factions failed to report some revenue from fundraising parties and accumulated hundreds of millions of yen in slush funds.
In a rare move, intensive discussions about the scandal are slated to be held on Monday, one day before Kishida delivers a policy speech at the request of the leading opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan.
A prime minister typically speaks at the podium on the opening day of Diet sessions, but the LDP, currently headed by Kishida, yielded to the demand. He is also scheduled to take questions from representatives of each party for three days starting Wednesday.
So far, Tokyo prosecutors have arrested and indicted several lawmakers and accountants of some LDP factions, including one that Kishida led until last month, prompting the ruling party to map out proposals to reshape its governance system.
The scandal has pushed the approval ratings for Kishida's Cabinet to their lowest levels since it was launched in October 2021, which has fueled speculation that he may step down as early as March after the draft budget is passed in parliament.
By the end of the session, the government plans to submit 58 bills, including one to create a "security clearance" system that restricts access to classified government data to certain individuals to prevent critical information from leaking to overseas entities.
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