As this year's ordinary Diet session kicks off Friday, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is set to make waves yet again. His newest goal is to make conspiracies to commit crimes a punishable offense.
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party's renewed push for an anti-conspiracy law looks set to become the latest in a spate of recent attempts to ram contentious bills through the Diet. Steamrolling through the conspiracy bill — which the government touts as a powerful weapon against global terrorism — is a touchy move that could stoke distrust not only in the opposition camp but also in the ruling coalition over the party's heavy-handedness.
Aside from controversy over the bill, the government also faces the daunting task of navigating politically sensitive deliberations on unprecedented legislation to allow for Emperor Akihito's abdication — not to mention securing Diet approval of a record-high ¥97.4547 trillion budget plan for fiscal 2017.