The Diet finally appears set to deliberate bills to cover the updated Japan-U.S. defense cooperation guidelines, now that the Liberal Democratic Party has officially proposed setting up a special committee on the issue.

Once the fiscal 1999 budget clears the Lower House — possibly by midmonth — the Diet is expected to enter full-scale debate on the guidelines-related bills, which have effectively been on hold since they were endorsed by the Cabinet and submitted to the Diet last April.

But the LDP, which lacks a majority in the Upper House even with its coalition ally, the Liberal Party, seems headed for a bumpy road in seeking Diet approval of the bills amid growing calls from the opposition camp for amendments to the government-proposed legislation.