Is the opposition ready for battle?

The Lower House passed an 82.91 trillion yen budget for fiscal 2007 in a plenary session over the weekend. The budget, the first compiled under the Abe administration, is now in the Upper House's Budget Committee. Fierce Diet battles are expected to ensue between the ruling and opposition forces since they are heading into local elections in April and an Upper House election in July.

While Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will try to focus on bills related to education reform and a bill to spell out procedures for a national referendum needed for constitutional amendments, the opposition force will try to corner the government and the Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito on such issues as the growing economic gap between the nation's "haves" and "have nots," and reform of practices related to political funds.

The ruling camp has repeatedly made gaffes in the current Diet session -- including health minister Hakuo Yanagisawa's depiction of women as "childbearing machines" -- but the opposition camp has not been able to exploit them. Although the opposition force demanded Mr. Yanagisawa's resignation and assailed Mr. Abe for having appointed him to the Cabinet, Mr. Yanagisawa and Mr. Abe defused the situation with repeated apologies.