A 48-day extraordinary Diet session opens Wednesday, within which a number of issues key to the nation's future are set to be debated — including drastic revision of immigration law and a draft proposal from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party to revise the war-renouncing Article 9 of the Constitution.
The government is also urging lawmakers to ratify — by the session's end, set for Dec. 10 — a free trade agreement with the European Union that would significantly lower Japan's tariffs on dairy products, pork, beef and wood from Europe.
However, the LDP-Komeito ruling bloc is likely to face tough resistance from opposition parties during the session.