Japan's Parliament Extends Diet Session Eight Days as Secondary-Capital Bill Remains Short of Upper House Majority

Japan's parliament approved an eight-day extension of the current Diet session through July 25. The decision came on what had been set as the final day of the session and will allow continued discussion of a bill to establish the concept of a secondary capital located outside Tokyo.

The bill is a central policy goal of the Japan Innovation Party, which joined the Liberal Democratic Party coalition in October 2025 on the condition that the legislation be enacted.

JIP leader Hirofumi Yoshimura, who also serves as Osaka governor, said the extension was unavoidable. “I believe it’s extremely important to have the bill passed during the current Diet session,” he stated. The bill cleared the Lower House, where the LDP holds a two-thirds majority.

Opposition parties control the Upper House and most oppose the measure. Only the two-member Team Mirai party has agreed to support it, leaving the coalition two votes short of a majority even with JIP backing. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s ruling coalition sought the extension to fulfill its prior commitment and to seek additional votes from independents or another opposition party.

On the same day the Upper House passed three other bills. One amends the Imperial House Law to allow male descendants from the patriarchal line of 11 former branches of the imperial family to be reinstated and permits female imperial family members to retain their status after marriage. A second criminalizes desecration of the Japanese flag.

The third revises the Code of Criminal Procedure to restrict prosecutors’ ability to appeal court decisions that grant retrials.