Japan PM survives vote of no confidence
Source: Agencies |
June 3, 2011, Friday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
JAPANESE Prime Minister Naoto Kan yesterday survived a no-confidence vote by offering to resign once the worst of the country's nuclear crisis is over in a successful last-ditch effort to quell a brewing revolt in his ruling party.
Kan's offer to step down, probably in the autumn, buys him time to prepare an extra budget to fund the rebuilding cost of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, but does little to resolve the country's long-running political and policy paralysis.
Thanks to Kan's maneuvering, the parliamentary no-confidence motion - brought by the opposition over his handling of the country's deepest crisis since World War II - was comfortably defeated by 293 to 152 votes.
Yet, weakened by rifts within his own party, Kan may be seen as a lame duck by the opposition and have little luck with tax and social security reforms, which Japan badly needs to contain its bulging debt and which require opposition backing in a divided parliament.
A senior official in the biggest opposition party, the Liberal Democratic Party, made plain that it had no intention to make things any easier for the ruling Democrats despite Kan's offer.
"We plan to carry forward while holding a strong belief that the continuation of the Kan government is not good for the country or for the people," Secretary General Nobuteru Ishihara said.
He restated his party's position that it would block a bill needed to finance 44 percent of this fiscal year's US$1 trillion budget unless the Democrats ditched their spending promises. Kan, who took office almost exactly a year ago as Japan's fifth minister in as many years, is battling to control a radiation crisis at the Fukushima plant which was knocked out by the tsunami.
He also needs to come up with a plan to pay for rebuilding the tsunami-hit region north of Tokyo without allowing debt, already twice the size of the US$5 trillion economy to spin out of control.
Speaking shortly before the parliamentary vote, Kan told ruling Democratic Party of Japan lawmakers: "I would like for the younger generation to take over various responsibilities once I fulfill certain roles that I need to, as I work on handling the disaster."
He gave no time frame for his departure and there were already signs of bickering within his party over when he should go.
Kan's offer to step down, probably in the autumn, buys him time to prepare an extra budget to fund the rebuilding cost of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, but does little to resolve the country's long-running political and policy paralysis.
Thanks to Kan's maneuvering, the parliamentary no-confidence motion - brought by the opposition over his handling of the country's deepest crisis since World War II - was comfortably defeated by 293 to 152 votes.
Yet, weakened by rifts within his own party, Kan may be seen as a lame duck by the opposition and have little luck with tax and social security reforms, which Japan badly needs to contain its bulging debt and which require opposition backing in a divided parliament.
A senior official in the biggest opposition party, the Liberal Democratic Party, made plain that it had no intention to make things any easier for the ruling Democrats despite Kan's offer.
"We plan to carry forward while holding a strong belief that the continuation of the Kan government is not good for the country or for the people," Secretary General Nobuteru Ishihara said.
He restated his party's position that it would block a bill needed to finance 44 percent of this fiscal year's US$1 trillion budget unless the Democrats ditched their spending promises. Kan, who took office almost exactly a year ago as Japan's fifth minister in as many years, is battling to control a radiation crisis at the Fukushima plant which was knocked out by the tsunami.
He also needs to come up with a plan to pay for rebuilding the tsunami-hit region north of Tokyo without allowing debt, already twice the size of the US$5 trillion economy to spin out of control.
Speaking shortly before the parliamentary vote, Kan told ruling Democratic Party of Japan lawmakers: "I would like for the younger generation to take over various responsibilities once I fulfill certain roles that I need to, as I work on handling the disaster."
He gave no time frame for his departure and there were already signs of bickering within his party over when he should go.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
