The actual dissolution of the House of Representatives — the larger and more powerful chamber of the country’s bicameral legislature — is set to occur on Friday, when a regular Diet session convenes. This means the annual budget and related legislation are now extremely unlikely to be passed by April 1, when Japan’s fiscal year kicks off, despite a virtual consensus among major parties that government spending, in some form or another, is needed to support and stimulate the country’s chronically muted economy.