Diet session likely to open Dec. 24 to pick new prime minister: LDP lawmaker

A special session of the Diet will likely begin on Dec. 24 to choose a new prime minister following Sunday's snap Lower House election, a Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker said on Wednesday.

If the Liberal Democratic Party is able to win an overall majority with its coalition partner, Komeito, the Diet session would last for around three days, the lawmaker said. A vote would be held to select the new prime minister, who would almost certainly be Shinzo Abe in the event of an LDP win, and he would then begin to form a Cabinet.

The current Abe administration will decide when the special Diet session will convene, as it remains in charge until the new Cabinet is launched. But if talks between the ruling and opposition camps are stalled, the start of the special session could be pushed back.

If Abe is re-elected, "he is unlikely to carry out major changes to his Cabinet and LDP executive lineup," the senior LDP lawmaker said.

Abe reshuffled his Cabinet and LDP executive board in September.