Principles of the Meeting

There are various meeting principles in local councils for democratic, smooth and efficient operation.

When holding a meeting or making a decision, a certain number of members must be present. This minimum required number of delegates is called a quorum. The quorum is, in principle, more than half of the number of members of the Diet.

The proceedings shall be decided by a majority of the members present, except in special cases. The chair has no right to participate in the decision, but the chair decides when the number of agrees and disagrees is equal.

The plenary session is to be open to the public in principle. Disclosure means that people other than members of the Diet have the freedom to observe the meeting and the freedom of news organizations such as newspapers and television to report on the status of the meeting, and publish the minutes. However, if a majority of two-thirds or more of the attending members vote, it can be kept private as a secret meeting.

Parliament operates independently for each session, and in principle, matters that did not vote during the session will disappear at the end of the session and will not be passed on to the later session. This is referred to as the "principle of non-continuous session."
However, as an exception, if a specific matter is to be reviewed continuously by a resolution of the plenary session, the Committee may examine or investigate the matter even during the closing of the City Counsil, and it can be resolved without re-proposing it at the next session.

It is stipulated that proposals once voted at the plenary session cannot be submitted again during the same session in principle, and one case will not be discussed twice during the session.