DUSHANBE, February 20, 2012, Asia-Plus  -- On Monday February 20, Mr. Olimjon Salimzoda, the head of the Majlisi Namoyandagon (Tajikistan’s lower chamber of parliament) Committee on International Relations, Public Associations and Information, met here with Mr. Hiroyuki Imahashi, Ambassador of Japan to Tajikistan.

Muhammadato Sultonov, a spokesman for the Majlisi Namoyandagon, says Salimzoda informed Japanese diplomat of work of Tajikistan’s lower house of parliament and stressed that development of relations between the two countries in all spheres would serve interests of both Tajikistan and Japan.

The two reportedly also discussed issues related to establishment and expansion of inter parliamentary relations between Tajikistan and Japan.

The National Diet of Japan is Japan''s bicameral legislature.  It is composed of a lower house, called the House of Representatives, and an upper house, called the House of Councilors.  Both houses of the Diet are directly elected under a parallel voting system.  In addition to passing laws, the Diet is formally responsible for selecting the Prime Minister.  The Diet was first convened as the Imperial Diet in 1889 as a result of adopting the Meiji constitution.  The Diet took its current form in 1947 upon the adoption of the postwar constitution and is considered by the Constitution to be the highest organ of state power.  The National Diet Building is located in Nagatacho, Chiyoda, Tokyo.