Some 150 Japanese Diet members going abroad this summer

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Some 150 Japanese Diet members going abroad this summer

Tuesday 22nd July, 06:26 AM JST

TOKYO —

About 150 Diet members have traveled or are scheduled to travel overseas for exchanges and inspections between late June and late August. They comprise some 100 members of the House of Representatives and about 50 members of the House of Councillors, according to the secretariats of both chambers. The lawmakers are aiming to exchange views with counterparts in other countries and carry out fact-finding missions abroad, they said.

The summertime visits account for more than 70% of all the scheduled overseas tours for parliamentarians in fiscal 2008. Political wrangling between the ruling camp, which controls the lower house, and the opposition bloc, which has a majority in the upper house, has made it difficult for lawmakers to go abroad during the New Year’s season and Golden Week holidays from late April to early May, secretariats of the lawmakers say.

Some of the trips with a stretch of two weeks have, however, invited criticism as being sightseeing tours on taxpayers’ money.

Among such trips, Diet affairs committee chiefs of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner New Komeito party as well as the major opposition Democratic Party of Japan and the opposition Social Democratic Party are visiting Australia from Monday to look at the decision-making process of the country’s parliament.

Members of the lower house’s special committee on disasters have been in China’s Sichuan Province since Sunday to examine the damage inflicted by the May 12 devastating quake.

They will also travel to Italy and Romania to study anti-disaster measures there, visiting facilities such as a volcano research center.

A group led by Akiko Santo, vice president of the upper house, is on a trip to Europe including destinations such as France and Italy between July 8 and Monday to hold talks with senior members of European parliaments.

Some 150 Japanese Diet members going abroad this summer