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On September 22, DPJ Secretary General Katsuya Okada held a press conference at party headquarters. He commented, “The DPJ’s new Cabinet has been launched, and we have reached a stage where the key posts in the party executive have been determined and the new party leadership has got underway.” Okada went on to report that he had completed his round of calls on the leadership of the various parties, and stated, “I will start to seriously get down to business.”
Okada gave his response to the news that DPJ Diet Affairs Committee Chair Yoshio Hachiro had determined the details of the schedule for the forthcoming Diet session, saying, “I would like us to prepare for it thoroughly.”
Furthermore, Okada expressed the basic principles regarding official press conferences held by the Secretary General, once more emphasizing his stance that “press conferences will be made open.” (details of the basic principles regarding the press conferences are attached).
Asked why the DPJ had agreed to the opposition’s calls to bring forward the start of the Diet session, Okada first stated that “The opposition called for the session to start as soon as possible,” but also commented, “We also thought that it was necessary to take as much time as possible for debate, and so Diet Affairs Committee Chair Hachiro made the decision to convene the Diet on October 1.” With regard to the DPJ’s stance toward the opposition, Okada said, “We will do our utmost to hold discussions in a wholehearted manner. We do not have a majority in the House of Councillors, and therefore we must pass the budget and legislation while obtaining the understanding of the opposition parties. It is extremely important to carry out thorough discussions, both in order to protect people’s livelihoods and in order to realise our national interest.”
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