The regular Diet session has been extended for 42 days through July 31. On Wednesday, when the extension was approved, the Lower House voted unanimously to accept a request from the Tokyo District Court to issue an arrest warrant for legislator Muneo Suzuki. And later the same day, public prosecutors in Tokyo arrested him on bribery charges.
Suzuki's arrest marked the climax of a session plagued by a series of corruption scandals involving not only Suzuki but also a few other legislators. Earlier this year, former Liberal Democratic Party Secretary General Koichi Kato and Upper House President Yutaka Inoue both resigned from the Diet.
The scandals aside, the extended session has a lot of work to do. The agenda includes bills on health insurance reform, postal service deregulation, personal data protection and response to military emergencies. Stalemate continues in the discussion of these key measures, although the budget-related health bill -- which the ruling parties have rammed through a Lower House committee -- is considered almost certain to pass. Still, it faces strong resistance from the opposition camp.