The first extraordinary Diet session under Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's Democratic Party of Japan-led administration ended Friday with the legislature approving 10 of the 12 government-sponsored bills during the 40-day period.
But when push came to shove with the Liberal Democratic Party abstaining from voting on legislation to protest Hatoyama's funds scandal, the DPJ resorted to the same tack the LDP used to great effect during its decades-long rule: ramming bills through due to its majority.
"This session ended up being a test run for the rookie DPJ administration," with the government setting the bar low and sticking only to what they can handle, said Yasuharu Ishizawa, a professor at Gakushuin Women's College.