This year's Diet session will start Jan. 19 and run through June 16, possibly without an extension, making it almost certain the House of Councilors election will be held July 11, ruling coalition lawmakers said Tuesday.

The Diet schedule was agreed upon during a meeting of the government and ruling coalition. It is set to be formalized by the Cabinet on Friday after it is approved by the opposition parties at Thursday's steering committee meetings of both chambers.

"This Diet session cannot be extended because we have an Upper House election," Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi reportedly told the meeting, adding that bills to be submitted to the 150-day session will be the next focus of consideration.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda said, "We are preparing to submit important bills, such as those for a fiscal 2003 supplementary budget and a fiscal 2004 budget, and will also seek approval of the dispatch of Self-Defense Forces to Iraq."

The government and the coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party and New Komeito aim to get the budget package passed by the March 31 end of the current fiscal year, the lawmakers said.

Highway privatization

Land, Infrastructure and Transport Minister Nobuteru Ishihara said Tuesday his ministry will submit bills to the Diet in early March to privatize four public highway corporations.

"We would like to show outlines of privatization bills by the end of this month and then submit them to the Diet in early March," Ishihara told reporters.

In December, the government and ruling parties endorsed a privatization program for Japan Highway Public Corp., Metropolitan Expressway Public Corp., Hanshin Expressway Public Corp. and the Honshu-Shikoku Bridge Authority.