Japan Govt Eyes Extra Budget Passage in Autumn

Tokyo, Sept. 9 (Jiji Press)--The Japanese government and ruling parties aim for the Diet, the country's parliament, to enact a fiscal 2022 second supplementary budget, designed to finance an upcoming economic package, during an extraordinary session in autumn, it was learned Friday.

The extra Diet session may start on Oct. 3, senior officials of the Liberal Democratic Party said. The government is slated to submit a supplementary budget proposal in the middle of the session, they said.

On Thursday, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said that his government is considering compiling the comprehensive package of measures featuring additional steps to fight soaring prices and help realize a new form of capitalism, his signature policy, by the end of October and drawing up an extra budget.

Meanwhile, opposition parties including the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan are calling on the government to convene a Diet session as soon as possible under a constitutional clause, hoping to discuss ties between LDP members and the controversial religious group known as the Unification Church.

But the ruling bloc has no plans to accept the request due to a series of upcoming key events, including Kishida's visit to the United States to attend the U.N. General Assembly session and the Sept. 27 state funeral for former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was gunned down during a campaign speech in July.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]