Brushing off recalcitrant opposition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Tuesday reiterated in the Diet his determination to swiftly ratify the multinational trade pact.
This year's extraordinary Diet session kicked off Monday, with the wrap-up expected as early as the end of November.
In what became the first parliamentary faceoff with the opposition after his sweeping victory in the Upper House election in July, Abe touted the TPP as "pivotal" to Japan's economic growth.