[EXTRA] The Affairs of Congress, in Brief: February 2013

Day 1,925, 22:10 • Published in Japan Japan • by ahava3233

Howdy, it's the your now Interim Speaker of the Diet, ahava3233. Anyway I just wanted to go over major events that happened in the Diet this month. I would've reported earlier but honestly activity in the Diet was rather minimal and other individuals had been advertising current discussions rather nicely.


Eligibility for Speaker



The only prevailing change implemented this month involved eligibility for the position of speaker. After much discussion over the matter, the Diet voted to allow non-congress members to run for the position without any restrictions. I have just opened up the nomination for the next Speaker here.


Legislative Reorganization: The Daimyo


A Daimyo from a rather recent anime, The Ambition of Oda Nobuna (織田信奈の野望)

One of the most contentious and active discussions this month involved comprehensive reform of the entire legislative system of Japan. The current cp, Kitsune Usureki, attempted to push a Daimyo system to replace the current system of discussion in the Diet. The Daimyo would be appointed by the top 5 parties to discuss legislative actions and vote on them, they would also be the only source of proposals for new legislation. However, the Diet could override any of their decisions with a 33% vote to have a Diet vote.

There was a long discussion on the matter involving pros of the system, including efficiency, against negatives, including lack of a say by Diet members and the general public. After much contention, Kitsune decided to stop pushing the proposal. Our legislative system has remained the same since.


Immigration Reform



The discussion to formalize immigration restarted at the end of this month. There are currently several proposals which haven't been pushed due to a lack of ability to enforce them without the support of party presidents. Furthermore, there is a lack of agreement on which proposal to push to a vote. The discussion on this issue shall continue into next month.


Current:Minimum Wage Reduction


The smallest denomination of our currency, the yen (1 yen)

In order to support efforts of communes in Japan, Ardishabutaro, a prime figure in the Shinsengumi proposed a reduction of the minimum wage to the lowest value possible. He argued that as the market rate for work is way above the minimum wage, there was no reason not to reduce the minimum wage to help support communes, such as those maintained within his party, the Shinsengumi. As there's minimal resistance to this change and it's been over a day since the discussion began on the forum, I have just pushed an in-game vote.





That's all folks, tune in for more articles from me on other matters and be sure to log into the forums and irc to keep an eye on what's going on in this country. Until next time, ahava3233 signing off!