With the Monday approval of the fiscal 2006 budget by the Diet, lawmakers have turned their focus to bills up for deliberation during the remainder of the session, but the opposition camp's state of disarray may prevent serious debate on the role of government in society, critics say.
A bill to shrink the size of the debt-ridden bureaucracy has drawn the most attention as Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi looks to place the finishing touches on his reform agenda before September, when he is expected to step down after five years and five months.
"What's important is to review the role of the government, hand over part of the administration the government doesn't have to handle to the private sector, slash useless administration, improve the private sector's initiative and independence, and create an environment that (lets) the private sector do its best," Koizumi said March 23, when debate on the reform bill began.