The ruling and opposition parties agreed Thursday to vote on temporary legislation March 12 that would enable the government to declare a state of emergency if necessary as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe faces criticism about his slow response to the coronavirus outbreak.
The passage of a bill to revise the existing law on an influenza strain is likely as the Lower House is controlled by the ruling bloc of the Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito. The coalition aims to have it approved by the Upper House on March 13.
In a rare call for cooperation across party lines, Abe met separately Wednesday with opposition party leaders who had criticized his government for failing to curtail the spread of COVID-19 — a respiratory disease caused by the new coronavirus — sooner.