150 days of the Diet, which was ridiculed with cherry blossoms and ending with corona

150th June 23rd, 18:26 of the Diet that was confused by the cherry blossoms and ending with corona

The Diet was at the mercy of the new coronavirus... the
Act on Special Measures, supplementary budget, and 3 secret measures. Looking back at the Diet that closed the curtain after an unusual 150 days and the issues that remained.
(Politics Department, Yuko Oikawa, Koichi Namiki)

Opposition demands extension of session...

On June 17, the end of the session, the opposition party offered to extend the session for 194 days until December 28, but was rejected by many opposition parties such as the ruling party.

The LDP's chairman of the National Assembly, Moriyama, explained the reason for closing as follows.
“The most important thing is to get the government to do its best to execute the budget after the budget is established. If the Diet is open, it will cost money.” As the

government and the ruling party, the second supplementary budget was established. , Wants to accelerate the implementation of economic measures such as payment of benefits.

On the other hand, the opposition party demanded a significant extension of the session, saying that it should continue to discuss measures to prepare for the second wave of infection.

The chairman of the Constitutional Democratic Party's Azumi Diet measure criticized as follows.
"It is not acceptable for the administration's approval rating to drop and to close the Diet so that it can escape. I strongly urge that "Do not stop the Diet."" It

was the last race in the 150-day Diet.

After the decision to extend the session was denied, the secretary-generals of the LDP and the Constitutional Democratic Party had discussions.
After closing, they agreed once a week to hold a committee related to countermeasures against the new coronavirus, and the submission of a cabinet distrust resolution was postponed.

Even if the Diet is closed, will it be possible to respond completely?
Checking the 10 trillion yen contingency that has not been used.
The problem of "sustainable benefits" in which a large amount of business is outsourced to general incorporated associations. The system itself of "general corporate body" was also asked.
The role that the legislative body should play is being tested because it is an emergency.

Initially "Sakura"

The Diet was convened on January 20th.
Many people believed that there would be no extension of the session from the beginning, thinking that there would be the Tokyo Governor's election in the summer and the Olympic and Paralympic Games at that time. The government has narrowed the bill to 52, the lowest ever, except when the House of Representatives was dissolved during regular session of the Diet.

Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers said, "There is no big confrontation bill." Was seen.
At this time, the opposition party had listed the themes of its pursuit as "casino" and "sakura."

A corruption case involving IR = integrated resort facility where a member of the LDP was arrested.
And the "Cherry Blossom Viewing Party" sponsored by the Prime Minister, which has been pursued since the extraordinary Diet session last year.

After the questions of members of the Constitutional Democratic Party were finished in the deliberation of the House of Representatives Budget Committee, Prime Minister Abe flew away saying that it was a meaningless question, and the opposition party repulsed. There were also scenes of apology.

The situation changed with corona

It is often said in Nagata-cho that "1 inch ahead is darkness," and that's exactly what it says. The most unexpected thing was the spread of the new coronavirus.

Around this time, infection with the new coronavirus was spreading in China.
Before the Diet was convened, infection was confirmed for the first time in Japan.

At the Diet, the new coronavirus countermeasures have become the main theme of the debate, including how to return Japanese people from Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, and the correspondence to cruise ships that have entered Yokohama Port.

On February 27, Abe instructed relevant ministers at the government's task force to urgently prepare the necessary bills to control the spread of the infection and minimize its impact on people's lives and the economy. The government has begun a study to develop a special measures law that enables declaration of an emergency.

While some opposition parties were worried about restrictions on their private rights, Abe called for cooperation on March 4 in an individual meeting with the leaders of the five opposition parties in order to get the bill into force. It was since April 2016, when Abe individually talked with the opposition leaders and asked for cooperation, after discussing the response to the Kumamoto earthquake.
Then, on March 13, the Special Measures Law was passed and passed.

Furthermore, on March 17, the secretary-general of the ruling and opposition parties and the secretary generals will meet. It decided to establish a liaison council between the government and the ruling party to discuss economic measures. It was a framework that followed the Great East Japan Earthquake.

The opposition side wanted to enhance its presence by cooperating in measures against the new coronavirus and by showing a "proposal-type" stance. On the other hand, one ruling party executive said, "By including the opposition side, we will be able to cooperate in the deliberation of the supplementary budget proposal that will be submitted in the future."

Parliament also has 3 dense measures

Around this time, the Diet was also facing the first challenge of infection control measures.
Legislators and staff wear masks and sanitize their hands. When a question is asked at the plenary session of the House of Representatives, about half of them decide to leave the parliament to avoid a crowded situation.

In addition, the number of committees held each day was narrowed down in order to reduce the number of lawmakers coming to the hospital.
In some cases, there were voices calling for a holiday, but both the ruling and opposition parties said, "In an emergency, the legislature should play a large role."

First emergency declaration

However, in April, the sense of urgency increased, with more than 100 infected people per day in Tokyo. The government first issued an emergency statement on April 7.

The declaration was to be reported to the Diet in advance, and Abe attended the House of Representatives Steering Committee of both Houses of Representatives and asked questions from each party. The Parliamentary Steering Committee is a committee in which the chairpersons also attend to decide the agenda of the plenary session, etc. It is said to be a “high-class place” among the people related to the Diet. It is rare for the Prime Minister to attend a question and ask questions, which is the first time in 45 years. It was the first time Abe had a question.

After that, Minister of Economic Rehabilitation Nishimura was in attendance, but the report to the House of Representatives Steering Committee and the question and answer were extended six times each time the declaration was expanded, extended, and lifted. It was decided to be seen.

Unusual correction recombination

In the Diet, unusual situations will occur one after another. One of them is rearrangement of the supplementary budget plan.

On April 16th, it was decided immediately under a sudden turn. Initially, regarding the 300,000 yen benefit to households with reduced income, which was included in the supplementary budget proposal, the Komeito Party demanded that it be changed to a uniform benefit of 100,000 yen, saying that "the target is limited and unpopular."

After intense discussions with the Liberal Democratic Party, it was reviewed along with the expansion of the national emergency declaration. It was an unprecedented situation when the supplementary budget proposal was submitted the next week.

Holiday return for the first time in 9 years

As a result, deliberation of the supplementary budget proposal will be delayed by one week.

April 29 was "Showa Day," but deliberation was held in return for the holiday. It is customary in the Diet not to hold committees and plenary sessions on Saturdays, Sundays, and public holidays, and it is unusual for the Diet to be deliberated on holidays.

According to the secretariat of the House of Representatives and Houses, deliberations will take place on holidays, except for cases that extend until midnight and extend over the dates, from the end of April 2011 to May 1, 2011 toward the restoration of the Great East Japan Earthquake. It was the first time in nine years since the budget committee and the plenary session that discussed the supplementary budget.

The supplementary budget was approved on April 30, with the majority of the opposition in favor.

Prosecutors' office law

On the other hand, there was a fierce battle between the ruling and opposition parties. It is a revision of the Public Prosecutor's Office Act that allows prosecutors to extend their retirement age. Posts of protests were posted on Twitter, and the opposition parties were ready for a thorough protest.

On May 18, Abe announced that he could not move forward without the understanding of the people, saying he could not move forward. The situation then evolved into a resignation by betting Mahjong during the Tokyo High Public Prosecutor's office prosecutor's declaration of emergency.

Declaration and secondary correction

On May 25, the national emergency declaration was lifted.

The government has created a second supplementary budget in just two months this year to take additional economic measures. The second supplementary budget proposal includes measures to reduce the burden of rents on businesses and expansion of employment adjustment subsidies in order to respond to the spread of new coronavirus infections, and the additional expenditure is 31 trillion in total in the general account. 911.4 billion yen, the largest revised budget ever.
It was approved by the majority in favor of the final session of the Diet on June 12.

With the additional submission of bills related to supplementary budgets, the government has submitted 59 bills to the Diet. Of these, four were not approved, and the completion rate was approximately 93%.

Will the Diet reform?

While taking measures to prevent infection with the new coronavirus, the issues of the Diet itself have emerged as the deliberation has been continued for 150 days.

Fortunately, no infection was confirmed during the session, but there is no guarantee that it will continue. How to continue to play the role of the legislative body when the infection spreads in both Houses of Representatives.

The new coronavirus has changed the way national parliament is. For the first time in about 700 years of history, the House of Representatives in the United Kingdom introduced a teleconferencing-type deliberation, in which members of the parliament asked questions from their home. Hearings are now online in the US Senate. Even in Japan, there is a move to introduce online, centering on the committee of the local council, which can determine the state of proceedings by the regulations of each local government.

However, it cannot be said that the Diet is undergoing drastic reforms. In the first place, legislators are required to "attend" the Diet under the constitution.

This is because it is said that the legislators must actually be inside the chamber.
There is an opinion that the Diet should use the Internet for deliberation and voting, mainly among young parliamentarians, but among veteran lawmakers, "The lawmakers attended and heard the deliberation before The traditional way of thinking that "pros and cons of "should be decided" is also strong.

Nobuo Kishi, a member of the Liberal Democratic Party, who is the chief executive of the ruling party of the House of Representatives Steering Committee, who is in the center of the Diet, also revealed the pain of struggling to prevent infection and maintain the function of the Diet. ..

"Among the corona, is led to the Diet only was doing almost every week. House of Representatives plenary session, about 500 people gather. Corona correspondence's National Assembly of the situation also of very difficult in one place"

at the mercy of the new corona virus The Diet. But this is not the end.
While it is said to be with corona or after corona, the new Diet that is required. The debate over the “three secret” measures of the Diet will also be carried over to the next Diet.
(Honorific title omitted)