In a last-ditch effort to block the enactment of a contentious bill to criminalize conspiracies, the Democratic Party submitted Tuesday a motion to the Upper House calling for the removal of Kozo Akino, the chairperson of the chamber's Judicial Committee.

The move immediately froze the committee's sessions, making it harder for the ruling bloc led by the Liberal Democratic Party to enact the bill in the Upper House by June 18, when the current Diet session is set to end.

The motion is expected to be voted down — as early as during Wednesday's plenary session of the chamber. But it has delayed the next committee session at least until Thursday.