After the election of the House of Representatives, the special Diet session was convened. 

There are three types of Diet sessions: the ordinary Diet, which convenes in mid-January, the extraordinary Diet, which convenes in autumn, and the Special Diet, which convenes after the general election of the House of Representatives. 

After the House members elect the Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson, the Prime Minister will be elected by majority vote. 

In this special Diet session, Fumio Kishida, a member of the Liberal Democratic Party, was elected again and became the 101st Prime Minister of Japan. 

Mr. Tsuyoshi Yamaguchi, a member of the Diet, has been retained as Minister of the Environment and will continue to lead the animal protection policy. Minister Yamaguchi is an internationally-minded man who has worked as a diplomat in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 

The World Dog Alliance (WDA) hopes that he will consider initiating the International Agreement to Prohibit the Eating of Dogs and Cats. This is a campaign WDA is working hard on worldwide.

Japanese people have a long history of living with dogs and cats. It is time to propose to the new Diet that the International Agreement to Prohibit the Eating of Dogs and Cats can help ease conflicts around the world through “dog and cat diplomacy.”