臨時国会、１０月４日召集＝消費税、閣僚資質で攻防へ

　政府・与党は１８日、臨時国会を１０月４日に召集することを決め、野党側に伝えた。自民党幹部が明らかにした。会期は１２月１０日前後までの約２カ月間とする方向。内閣改造後、初の国会となり、消費税率１０％への引き上げや社会保障改革、日米貿易協定をめぐり論戦が交わされる見通し。野党側は初入閣組の資質をただしていく方針だ。
　召集日は衆参両院本会議で安倍晋三首相の所信表明演説を実施。これに対する各党代表質問は１０月７～９日に行われる見込みだ。政府は、教職員の働き方改革に配慮した公立学校教員の給与に関する特別措置法改正案や、大企業に社外取締役を置くことを義務付ける会社法改正案など約２０本の法案提出を予定。条約では、日米貿易協定の承認案も提出されそうだ。（2019/09/18-20:29）

Japan's government and Liberal Democratic Party-led ruling coalition decided Wednesday to convene the Diet, the country's parliament, for an extraordinary session from Oct. 4, a senior LDP official said.
   The ruling side informed opposition parties of the decision on Wednesday, according to the official. The LDP and its Komeito ally hope to have the extraordinary session run for about two months until around Dec. 10.
   The LDP and Komeito are expected to clash with the opposition side over the consumption tax hike, social security reform and Japan-U.S. trade negotiations. This will be the first Diet session since Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reshuffled his cabinet on Sept. 11, and opposition lawmakers are expected to grill untested new ministers.
   On the opening day of the session, Abe is expected to deliver a policy speech at plenary meetings of both chambers of the Diet. Question-and-answer sessions for the policy speech are slated to be held Oct. 7-9.
   The government plans to submit about 20 bills during the session, including one to revise a special law on pay for public school teachers to reflect work style reform for them and an amendment to the companies law to oblige large corporations to have outside directors. A bill to ratify an envisioned trade agreement between Japan and the United States is also expected to be submitted.