ニュース 2013/09/24 Opposition parties confirm intention of calling for early start to Diet session On September 24, the secretaries general or equivalent of the DPJ, Japan Restoration Party, Your Party, the Japanese Communist Party, People’s Life Party, and the Social Democratic Party held a meeting at a Tokyo venue. Considering the issue of leaks of contaminated water at Fukushima No.1 reactor and the build-up of matters that need to be discussed, the assembled secretaries general decided to call for an early start to the Diet session, which the ruling parties are currently saying they will convene on October 15. DPJ Secretary General Akihiro Ohata attended the meeting and was accompanied by Diet Affairs Committee Chair Jin Matsubara. At the start of the meeting, Ohata reported on the content of a three-party meeting of the secretaries general of the LDP, New Komeito and the DPJ on September 10. He said that there were a whole variety of domestic and international issues, such as the issue of contaminated water, the consumption tax and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Treaty. He confirmed that the opposition parties would cooperate together in order to call for the Diet session to be convened at an earlier date. After the meeting Ohata spoke to reporters, saying, “The ruling parties are saying that the Diet session will be convened on October 15, but considering so many significant issues exist, it is problematic that the government continues to press ahead unilaterally without providing explanations to the public. We have decided to call for the Diet session to be convened at an earlier date.” The opposition parties presented their petition to the ruling parties later than same day.