Kan shows no intention of quitting soon, focusing on tasks ahead+

TOKYO, June 17 Kyodo -
Prime Minister Naoto Kan gave no indication Friday of any intention to step down soon, coming up instead with a list of tasks to carry out in the weeks ahead.
Kan asked his Cabinet members to speed up the process of drawing up an extra budget to implement additional relief measures for victims of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, and floated the possibility of creating a new law for decommissioning nuclear facilities.
Kan, who signaled two weeks ago his readiness to quit, also voiced his determination again during a session of parliament to promote the use of renewable energy, such as solar and wind, in the wake of the world's worst nuclear accident in a quarter of a century at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, sparked by the twin disasters.
Some people close to Kan have advised him to reshuffle his Cabinet or explore the possibility of dissolving the House of Representatives for a general election, and make Japan's future stance on nuclear energy one of the main points of contention.
Still, many lawmakers even within Kan's ruling party have started to grow impatient with the premier, saying it is time for him to specify when he will step down.
Some senior lawmakers of the Democratic Party of Japan, headed by Kan, believe the premier should be replaced in exchange for securing enough support from opposition parties for the parliamentary passage of a bill needed to finance a large portion of the fiscal 2011 budget.
DPJ Secretary General Katsuya Okada and other party executives are planning to discuss what to do regarding Kan's premiership on Sunday.
The DPJ also sounded out the Liberal Democratic Party and smaller opposition parties on holding a meeting of secretaries general on Monday as it wants to formally request an extension of the current ordinary Diet session.
The LDP leadership, including President Sadakazu Tanigaki and Secretary General Nobuteru Ishihara, agreed Friday night to give the nod to a Diet extension if it is short and limited to the issue of post-disaster reconstruction.
They also shared the view that a Diet extension would not be acceptable if Kan stays in office and decided to demand that Okada clarify when the prime minister will step down at Monday's meeting.
In an attempt to enact the bill to enable the government to issue deficit-covering bonds in the year that started in April and the new supplementary budget, the DPJ is seeking to stretch the scheduled June 22 end of the Diet session for three months.
Okada and other senior DPJ lawmakers have, however, said the extension is not meant to save Kan's premiership and he could step down in the course of the next three months.
==Kyodo
2011-06-18 00:12:05