ID :
185700
Wed, 06/01/2011 - 03:11
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/185700
The shortlink copeid
LDP, New Komeito to Submit Motion against Kan Cabinet on Wed.
Tokyo, May 31 (Jiji Press)--The Liberal Democratic Party and New Komeito plan to jointly submit a no-confidence motion against the cabinet of Prime Minister Naoto Kan on Wednesday evening, or soon after the day's parliamentary debate among political party leaders, informed sources said Tuesday.
At the debate session, LDP chief Sadakazu Tanigaki intends to urge Kan to step down, criticizing his government's allegedly inappropriate response to the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, and the subsequent crisis at Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s <9501> Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, the sources said.
The LDP, the biggest opposition party, believes it necessary to submit the motion soon after the parliamentary debate, which is slated to start at 3 p.m. (6 a.m. GMT), according to the sources.
Meanwhile, Kan, also president of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan, held a meeting with former Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, a senior DPJ member at odds with Kan, for some two hours in order to resolve the intraparty bickering.
Kan is believed to have sought Hatoyama's cooperation in preventing rebel DPJ lawmakers from supporting the no-confidence motion, saying that the party could be split if such a thing happens.
But Hatoyama made no comment to reporters after the meeting. A DPJ lawmaker close to former DPJ leader Ichiro Ozawa said that the Kan-Hatoyama meeting ended in rupture.
Hatoyama is also close to Ozawa, who has been urging Kan to step down, but has yet to clarify whether he would support the motion against Kan.
The DPJ leadership team is stepping up efforts to persuade party members who oppose Kan's policies not to support the expected no-confidence motion. DPJ executives are also studying a major extension of the current regular parliamentary session that is slated to end on June 22 at present.
While showing his intention to compile a fiscal 2011 second supplementary budget to finance reconstruction measures for areas ravaged by the March disaster, DPJ parliamentary affairs chief Jun Azumi told a news conference that the DPJ leadership team is ready to study various options, including extending the parliamentary session.
Tanigaki of the LDP and Natsuo Yamaguchi, head of New Komeito, a major opposition party, had talks over the phone on Tuesday and agreed to submit the no-confidence motion on Wednesday.
According to senior LDP officials, Tanigaki and Yamaguchi are expected to meet after the parliamentary debate Wednesday and confirm the two parties' intention to jointly submit the motion.
After the talks, the LDP and New Komeito plan to make formal decisions on the motion and will seek support from other opposition parties before submitting it to the House of Representatives, the powerful lower chamber of parliament.
The submission of the motion could be postponed to Thursday or later if the series of procedures at the opposition parties are delayed into late Wednesday night.
On Thursday, the Lower House is slated to hold a plenary meeting from 1 p.m., where Kan plans to report the results of the Group of Eight summit held in France last Thursday and Friday.
If the no-confidence motion is submitted by the time the day's plenary meeting starts, it will be put to a vote before Kan's report.
Some in the LDP have called for the motion to be submitted after the coming gubernatorial election in Aomori Prefecture, northern Japan, on Sunday. But a party executive said it is now very unlikely that the submission will be delayed until next week.
At a Lower House committee meeting on Tuesday, Kan ruled out an intention to step down, saying he will not run away from his responsibility in bringing the stricken nuclear power plant under control.
One cabinet member, who is a close ally to Kan, told reporters that the prime minister would carry out a major cabinet shakeup if he survives the motion.
If the Lower House passes a no-confidence motion against the cabinet, the cabinet must resign en masse unless the Lower House is dissolved within 10 days under a constitutional provision.
At the debate session, LDP chief Sadakazu Tanigaki intends to urge Kan to step down, criticizing his government's allegedly inappropriate response to the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, and the subsequent crisis at Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s <9501> Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, the sources said.
The LDP, the biggest opposition party, believes it necessary to submit the motion soon after the parliamentary debate, which is slated to start at 3 p.m. (6 a.m. GMT), according to the sources.
Meanwhile, Kan, also president of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan, held a meeting with former Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, a senior DPJ member at odds with Kan, for some two hours in order to resolve the intraparty bickering.
Kan is believed to have sought Hatoyama's cooperation in preventing rebel DPJ lawmakers from supporting the no-confidence motion, saying that the party could be split if such a thing happens.
But Hatoyama made no comment to reporters after the meeting. A DPJ lawmaker close to former DPJ leader Ichiro Ozawa said that the Kan-Hatoyama meeting ended in rupture.
Hatoyama is also close to Ozawa, who has been urging Kan to step down, but has yet to clarify whether he would support the motion against Kan.
The DPJ leadership team is stepping up efforts to persuade party members who oppose Kan's policies not to support the expected no-confidence motion. DPJ executives are also studying a major extension of the current regular parliamentary session that is slated to end on June 22 at present.
While showing his intention to compile a fiscal 2011 second supplementary budget to finance reconstruction measures for areas ravaged by the March disaster, DPJ parliamentary affairs chief Jun Azumi told a news conference that the DPJ leadership team is ready to study various options, including extending the parliamentary session.
Tanigaki of the LDP and Natsuo Yamaguchi, head of New Komeito, a major opposition party, had talks over the phone on Tuesday and agreed to submit the no-confidence motion on Wednesday.
According to senior LDP officials, Tanigaki and Yamaguchi are expected to meet after the parliamentary debate Wednesday and confirm the two parties' intention to jointly submit the motion.
After the talks, the LDP and New Komeito plan to make formal decisions on the motion and will seek support from other opposition parties before submitting it to the House of Representatives, the powerful lower chamber of parliament.
The submission of the motion could be postponed to Thursday or later if the series of procedures at the opposition parties are delayed into late Wednesday night.
On Thursday, the Lower House is slated to hold a plenary meeting from 1 p.m., where Kan plans to report the results of the Group of Eight summit held in France last Thursday and Friday.
If the no-confidence motion is submitted by the time the day's plenary meeting starts, it will be put to a vote before Kan's report.
Some in the LDP have called for the motion to be submitted after the coming gubernatorial election in Aomori Prefecture, northern Japan, on Sunday. But a party executive said it is now very unlikely that the submission will be delayed until next week.
At a Lower House committee meeting on Tuesday, Kan ruled out an intention to step down, saying he will not run away from his responsibility in bringing the stricken nuclear power plant under control.
One cabinet member, who is a close ally to Kan, told reporters that the prime minister would carry out a major cabinet shakeup if he survives the motion.
If the Lower House passes a no-confidence motion against the cabinet, the cabinet must resign en masse unless the Lower House is dissolved within 10 days under a constitutional provision.
