Japanese Govt: Postal Bills Top Priority

Ruling bloc and government officials are planning to extend the current Diet session beyond 19 June, possibly until early August, to enable the passage of key bills, sources at the ruling parties and the government said Wednesday [29 May]. Of the four key sets of bills the ruling bloc and government initially hoped to enact, officials are now planning to give top priority to one to revise the Health Insurance Law, critical for financing next fiscal year’s budget, and the postal reform bills that Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi is eager to see passed, the sources said.