The Nagata-cho political hub was in turmoil Tuesday as the ruling and opposition camps failed to come to an agreement on how long to extend the Diet session, which was slated to finish Wednesday.

The Democratic Party of Japan was seeking to extend the session by up to four months, even though an extraordinary session usually starts in September.

The opposition camp, led by the Liberal Democratic Party, has been more focused on getting Prime Minister Naoto Kan, the DPJ president, to commit to a date when he will step down, resulting in snarled negotiations over the session extension.