During the extra Diet session convening today, Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori hopes to fix the damage done to his ruling bloc by recent money scandals and boost the fragile economic recovery with a stimulus package worth more than 10 trillion yen, including 4 trillion yen in new spending.
Mori's performance during the 72-day session through early December may sway the destiny of his administration, whose support rating in media surveys has been moving up but at a sluggish pace.
There is lingering speculation that the Liberal Democratic Party, which he heads, and its allies will not be able to survive next summer's Upper House election as long as the unpopular Mori remains at the ruling camp's helm.