Kan vows again to quit after parliamentary passage of key bills+

TOKYO, July 29 Kyodo -
Prime Minister Naoto Kan on Friday suggested he is committed to stepping down as promised after securing parliamentary passage of key bills.
Kan, under strong pressure to resign soon, told a news conference, ''I'm very aware of the responsibility my words until now carry.''
Kan has said that he is ready to turn over his job to the younger generation of the Democratic Party of Japan, once some progress is made in rebuilding areas hit hard by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami and containing the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant.
The premier has said he will quit after securing parliamentary passage of three bills -- the second extra budget for fiscal 2011, a bill to enable the government to issue deficit-covering bonds in the year through March 31, and a bill to promote the use of renewable energy sources.
The supplementary budget was enacted on Monday and the focus is now on whether the DPJ, led by Kan, can win enough cooperation from opposition parties to pass the two other bills in the current Diet session, which will run through the end of the next month.
In an attempt to achieve a smooth succession, some DPJ lawmakers say that the ruling party could hold its presidential election before Kan actually resigns.
Asked about this idea, the 64-year-old premier and DPJ leader, who has been in office for a little over one year, said, ''This is not something I should decide all by myself,'' suggesting he is open to discussing the schedule with other senior lawmakers of the ruling party.
With regard to North Korean issues, Kan was asked his view of the significance of a Japanese prime minister visiting Pyongyang to make a breakthrough in the long-running abduction issue.
Kan did not directly comment on this question, but said that he will ''spare no effort in resolving the issue,'' which has been the biggest impediment to normalizing relations between Japan and North Korea.
In September 2002, North Korea admitted for the first time that its agents had abducted 13 Japanese nationals and apologized for it. Five of them have since returned to Japan, but the country says the rest are dead.