Just over two months after its opening session on Jan. 23, the government has pushed through a record budget of ¥114 trillion for fiscal 2023 as the Diet enters its peak season. Until the end of the parliamentary session, scheduled for June 21, the Diet's focus will be in scrutinizing policies proposed by the government.
The administration of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will now focus on ratifying some of his key legislative issues such as energy policy, defense spending and asylum programs.
Amid growing rumors of a snap election — with the prime minister’s approval rating jumping to 48%, according to the Nikkei daily, after his Kyiv trip and a successful rapprochement with South Korea — Kishida is moving into the second half of his mandate as leader of the Liberal Democratic Party with growing confidence, with less than a year and a half before the end of his term in September 2024.