Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda has announced that an extraordinary Diet session will convene in mid-September. Mr. Fukuda wanted to call the Diet session in late August, but Komeito, a junior partner in the ruling coalition, insisted on late September. Mr. Fukuda's compromise shows that his leadership is eroding.
Mr. Fukuda hopes to have the Diet adopt measures to prop up the economy, pass a law revision to extend the Maritime Self-Defense Force's refueling operations in the Indian Ocean for naval ships of the United States and other nations engaged in antiterrorism operations, and enact a law to establish a Consumer Agency. Since a second vote with a two-thirds majority in the Lower House will be required to extend the MSDF refueling mission, Mr. Fukuda thought that it was necessary to start the extraordinary Diet session in late August.
Komeito, which participated in a second vote in the Lower House last January to resume the MSDF refueling mission, is now cautious about a second vote, fearing voter reaction in the next Lower House election. The party would like Mr. Fukuda to dissolve the Lower House by the start of next year as it wants sufficient time after the Lower House election to prepare for the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election, which is scheduled for the summer of 2009.