Kan, TEPCO head in Diet

Kan, TEPCO head in Diet

TOKYO, Japan - Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan (front) speaks during a House of Councillors Budget Committee interpellation session in the Diet building in Tokyo on April 25, 2011. Tokyo Electric Power Co. President Masataka Shimizu is seated in the background to the right.

Interpellation on PM Fukuda's policies begins

Interpellation on PM Fukuda's policies begins

TOKYO, Japan - Yukio Hatoyama (front), secretary general of the opposition Democratic Party of Japan, asks questions about Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda's policies during an interpellation at the House of Representatives plenary session on Jan. 21. Fukuda (R in back) and Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura (L in back) listen to Hatoyama.

Prime Minister Koizumi again vows to privatize Japan Post

Prime Minister Koizumi again vows to privatize Japan Post

TOKYO, Japan - Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi answers questions during an interpellation session at the House of Representatives Sept. 28. Koizumi reiterated his resolve to privatize Japan Post and further advance structural reform.

Interpellation begins with debut of new opposition leader

Interpellation begins with debut of new opposition leader

TOKYO, Japan - New opposition leader Seiji Maehara poses questions during a Diet interpellation session Sept. 28. Maehara, the 43-year-old head of the Democratic Party of Japan, succeeded Katsuya Okada who stepped down from the DPJ's leadership post to take responsibility for its election defeat in the Sept. 11 general election. Prime Minister Koizumi was seated behind Maehara.

Interpellation on PM Fukuda's policies begins

Interpellation on PM Fukuda's policies begins

TOKYO, Japan - Yukio Hatoyama (front), secretary general of the opposition Democratic Party of Japan, asks questions about Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda's policies during an interpellation at the House of Representatives plenary session on Jan. 21. Fukuda (R in back) and Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura (L in back) listen to Hatoyama. (Kyodo)

Interpellation begins with debut of new opposition leader

Interpellation begins with debut of new opposition leader

TOKYO, Japan - New opposition leader Seiji Maehara poses questions during a Diet interpellation session Sept. 28. Maehara, the 43-year-old head of the Democratic Party of Japan, succeeded Katsuya Okada who stepped down from the DPJ's leadership post to take responsibility for its election defeat in the Sept. 11 general election. Prime Minister Koizumi was seated behind Maehara. (Kyodo)

Prime Minister Koizumi again vows to privatize Japan Post

Prime Minister Koizumi again vows to privatize Japan Post

TOKYO, Japan - Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi answers questions during an interpellation session at the House of Representatives Sept. 28. Koizumi reiterated his resolve to privatize Japan Post and further advance structural reform. (Kyodo)

Kan, TEPCO head in Diet

Kan, TEPCO head in Diet

TOKYO, Japan - Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan (front) speaks during a House of Councillors Budget Committee interpellation session in the Diet building in Tokyo on April 25, 2011. Tokyo Electric Power Co. President Masataka Shimizu is seated in the background to the right. (Kyodo)

Japan lawmaker with severe disability at 1st interpellation

Japan lawmaker with severe disability at 1st interpellation

Japanese lawmaker Eiko Kimura (2nd from R) who has cerebral palsy attends her first interpellation at an upper house committee in Tokyo on Nov. 5, 2019. It marked the first time a lawmaker requiring a wheelchair and aide due to a disability has asked questions during an interpellation session, according to the House of Councillors. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Japan lawmaker with severe disability at 1st interpellation

Japan lawmaker with severe disability at 1st interpellation

Japanese lawmaker Eiko Kimura, who has cerebral palsy, meets the press after her first interpellation at an upper house committee in Tokyo on Nov. 5, 2019. It was the first time a lawmaker requiring a wheelchair and aide due to a disability has asked questions during an interpellation session, according to the House of Councillors. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Japan lawmaker with severe disability at 1st interpellation

Japan lawmaker with severe disability at 1st interpellation

Japanese lawmaker Eiko Kimura (C), who has cerebral palsy, leaves after her first interpellation at an upper house committee in Tokyo on Nov. 5, 2019. It was the first time a lawmaker requiring a wheelchair and aide due to a disability has asked questions during an interpellation session, according to the House of Councillors. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Japan lawmaker with severe disability at 1st interpellation

Japan lawmaker with severe disability at 1st interpellation

Japanese transport minister Kazuyoshi Akaba (R) talks to lawmaker Eiko Kimura (L), who has cerebral palsy, after her first interpellation at an upper house committee in Tokyo on Nov. 5, 2019. It was the first time a lawmaker requiring a wheelchair and aide due to a disability has asked questions during an interpellation session, according to the House of Councillors. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Japan lawmaker with severe disability at 1st interpellation

Japan lawmaker with severe disability at 1st interpellation

Japanese lawmaker Eiko Kimura (C), who has cerebral palsy, attends her first interpellation at an upper house committee in Tokyo on Nov. 5, 2019. It marked the first time a lawmaker requiring a wheelchair and aide due to a disability has asked questions during an interpellation session, according to the House of Councillors. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo