Tokyo, 11 June, 2021 (TON): On Friday, the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDPJ) on Friday requested that the current parliamentary session should be extended by three more months.

The request was made to allow for more debate on matters related to Covid-19 and the Tokyo Olympics.

During a meeting, the CDPJ's head of Diet affairs Jun Azumi requested his counterpart Hiroshi Moriyama in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) about the session extension.

The request came as the CDPJ and other opposition parties have been critical of the government's response to the pandemic, believing that its efforts to curb the spread of the virus have been inadequate, particularly the slow pace of its vaccination campaign.

They have also taken issue with Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga's pledge that holding the Olympics this summer in Tokyo will be "safe and secure".

Moreover, the opposition parties clearly stated no confidence vote will be filed in Suga's cabinet if the request for an extension is turned down.