Diet extension unlikely despite Kokumin Shinto threat over posts bill
Kyodo News
The Democratic Party of Japan is more inclined to have an Upper House election in early July without extending the current Diet session, as many media polls have shown strong public support for Prime Minister Naoto Kan's new Cabinet, lawmakers said Thursday.
f Kan does not extend the 150-day ordinary Diet session, which is set to end next Wednesday, the House of Councilors election will most likely be held on July 11.
DPJ lawmakers, especially those seeking re-election, are calling on the ruling party not to extend the Diet session as Kan's Cabinet has enjoyed more than 60 percent support since he took office Tuesday, compared with about 20 percent in the final days of the Cabinet of his predecessor, Yukio Hatoyama.
But the DPJ's sole coalition partner, Kokumin Shinto (People's New Party), is worried that a bill designed to scale down the postal privatization — the party's goal since being set up in 2005 — will not be enacted by the end of the current session if it is not extended.
