Japan Govt Eyes Jan. 24 Start of Ordinary Diet Session; Upper House Election Likely to Be Held on July 20

The Yomiuri Shimbun

13:58 JST, December 20, 2024

The government and ruling bloc on Thursday began making adjustments to the schedule in order for the ordinary Diet session to convene on Jan. 24, 2025.

Considering the Public Offices Election Law, the start of the campaign period for the next House of Councillors election is likely to begin on July 3, with voting and vote counting to take place on July 20, if the session is not extended.

Holding the election on the second day of the three-day weekend of July 19-21 is an unusual choice.

The administration is apparently considering its junior coalition partner Komeito, which is placing as much importance on the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election next summer as it is the national election.

Previously, the government had been trying to convene the ordinary Diet session on January 21. As ordinary Diet sessions are 150 days, the upper house election was expected to take place on July 13.

However, the election for the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly, which is set to expire on July 22, is expected to take place from June to July and would overlap with the campaign period for the upper house election.

According to a senior member of the Liberal Democratic Party, Komeito leader Tetsuo Saito asked Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba to postpone the upper house election when they met at the Prime Minister’s Office on Wednesday.

Ishiba, who is scheduled to go to Indonesia and Malaysia in early January, has received an offer by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump to meet for the first time in mid-January.

Some government officials were concerned that, if Ishiba were to meet Trump in mid-January and the ordinary Diet session were to start on Jan. 21, he would not have enough time to prepare for his policy speech.

On the other hand, some are now concerned that voter turnout will be low if election day is held in the middle of a summer holiday weekend.