Japan's 221st special parliament closed on Friday with the government securing passage of all 64 bills it submitted during the session, ranging from imperial household reform to national security restructuring.
Approved legislation included amendments to the Imperial House Law allowing female royals to retain their status after marriage and permitting male-line descendants of former imperial branches to be adopted into the family. Lawmakers also passed bills establishing a National Intelligence Bureau and a Disaster Management Agency. A law criminalising the desecration of the national flag was enacted, while the upper house narrowly approved a "sub-capital" bill by 123 votes to 121, prompting the ruling coalition to extend the session by eight days to ensure its passage.
A bill to reduce the number of lower house seats was left pending amid fierce opposition resistance. The 2026 budget had been delayed until April due to a lower house dissolution and general election, forcing the administration to adopt a stopgap spending plan.