The 150-day regular Diet session convened Monday with the money scandals embroiling Democratic Party of Japan Secretary General Ichiro Ozawa and Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama expected to snarl efforts by the ruling bloc to pass budget and other bills.
The 174th regular session, the four-month-old administration's first marathon Diet faceoff with the opposition, kicked off just days after three former Ozawa aides were arrested over a political donations scandal already starting to hit voter support.
Speaking to reporters in the morning, Hatoyama said that while he intends to stand firmly behind Ozawa, he also believes the DPJ kingpin owes the public an explanation.