Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's plan to force a snap election by closing an extraordinary Diet session the same day it opens on Sept. 28 — without any speeches from or questions to Cabinet ministers, including Abe himself — has drawn harsh criticism from opposition lawmakers.
The reported plan, confirmed by Hiroshi Moriyama, the Diet affairs chief of Abe's Liberal Democratic Party, would buck historical trends.
The 19 members of Abe's Cabinet, formed on Aug. 3, have not attended a single Diet session since their appointment. If no members deliver speeches in the Diet before the probable dissolution of the Lower House, it would be a first in the postwar era, a spokesman for the Lower House secretariat told The Japan Times.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.