ID :
207155
Wed, 09/14/2011 - 17:54
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https://oananews.org//node/207155
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Noda grilled at parliament after minister quits over gaffes
TOKYO, Sept. 14 Kyodo -
Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda faced harsh criticism on the first day of parliamentary interpellations Wednesday, with the leading opposition party leader pouncing on his responsibility in appointing a minister who already quit over verbal gaffes related to the country's ongoing nuclear crisis.
Sadakazu Tanigaki, head of the main opposition Liberal Democratic Party, said at the plenary session of the House of Representatives that the choice of Yoshio Hachiro, who resigned as industry minister Saturday, is the ''outcome of an imperfect Cabinet formation.''
But Noda insisted, ''I put the right people in the right posts, making full use of the talents in the (ruling) Democratic Party of Japan.''
The Cabinet, launched Sept. 2, includes both Noda's allies and members from other factions in the DPJ so as to foster party unity. In addition to Hachiro, some other Cabinet members made comments that stirred criticisms that the premier's appointments of them were mismatched.
Noda, who was peppered with questions about his first policy address as premier, promised that his Cabinet will work to restore trust in it after Hachiro's resignation and vowed to overcome the tasks ahead.
''Now is not the time to dissolve'' the lower house for a snap general election, he said.
The premier renewed his pledge that the DPJ will implement ''in good faith'' an agreement with the LDP and its ally the New Komeito party to review some of its key policies such as the child allowance program, and called on the opposition parties for their support in efforts to rebuild areas ravaged by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.
Tanigaki said the LDP will ''fully cooperate'' with the government, but took issue at the ruling party's recent actions including its push for the extraordinary Diet session, begun Tuesday, to run only for four days.
The plenary session of the ruling camp-controlled House of Representatives on Tuesday decided by a majority vote that the parliament will run from Tuesday until Friday.
The DPJ has sought the opposition camp's understanding on the short length of the Diet session, saying the government wants to prioritize work to rebuild the disaster-hit areas and to craft the third extra budget designed to fully finance reconstruction work, lawmakers said.
DPJ Diet affairs chief Hirofumi Hirano was also quoted by an opposition lawmaker as saying the party wants to close the session after four days and then reconvene it because the Cabinet is still in an ''imperfect'' state and lacks sufficient preparation for parliament questioning.
The opposition parties, which dominate the upper house, have been calling for a longer session to secure enough time to hold budget committee sessions, which enable lengthy discussions on government policies.
As a compromise in the face of such strong calls, Hirano proposed to the LDP to hold the budget committees from both chambers of parliament from Sept. 26 to 29 after the four-day extraordinary session is adjourned.
Hirano also asked for the DPJ, LDP and the New Komeito to hold talks to discuss the draft for the third extra budget.
But the LDP and New Komeito rejected them and said they want an extension of the overall Diet session. The LDP, New Komeito and other opposition parties agreed in a meeting earlier in the day to press the DPJ and government for a 28-day extension of the current parliament session until Oct. 14.
Tanigaki told the lower house plenary session that the DPJ's move has ''greatly damaged the relationship of trust between the ruling and opposition camps'' and that the opposition will not readily engage in cross-party talks as sought by Noda.
Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda faced harsh criticism on the first day of parliamentary interpellations Wednesday, with the leading opposition party leader pouncing on his responsibility in appointing a minister who already quit over verbal gaffes related to the country's ongoing nuclear crisis.
Sadakazu Tanigaki, head of the main opposition Liberal Democratic Party, said at the plenary session of the House of Representatives that the choice of Yoshio Hachiro, who resigned as industry minister Saturday, is the ''outcome of an imperfect Cabinet formation.''
But Noda insisted, ''I put the right people in the right posts, making full use of the talents in the (ruling) Democratic Party of Japan.''
The Cabinet, launched Sept. 2, includes both Noda's allies and members from other factions in the DPJ so as to foster party unity. In addition to Hachiro, some other Cabinet members made comments that stirred criticisms that the premier's appointments of them were mismatched.
Noda, who was peppered with questions about his first policy address as premier, promised that his Cabinet will work to restore trust in it after Hachiro's resignation and vowed to overcome the tasks ahead.
''Now is not the time to dissolve'' the lower house for a snap general election, he said.
The premier renewed his pledge that the DPJ will implement ''in good faith'' an agreement with the LDP and its ally the New Komeito party to review some of its key policies such as the child allowance program, and called on the opposition parties for their support in efforts to rebuild areas ravaged by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.
Tanigaki said the LDP will ''fully cooperate'' with the government, but took issue at the ruling party's recent actions including its push for the extraordinary Diet session, begun Tuesday, to run only for four days.
The plenary session of the ruling camp-controlled House of Representatives on Tuesday decided by a majority vote that the parliament will run from Tuesday until Friday.
The DPJ has sought the opposition camp's understanding on the short length of the Diet session, saying the government wants to prioritize work to rebuild the disaster-hit areas and to craft the third extra budget designed to fully finance reconstruction work, lawmakers said.
DPJ Diet affairs chief Hirofumi Hirano was also quoted by an opposition lawmaker as saying the party wants to close the session after four days and then reconvene it because the Cabinet is still in an ''imperfect'' state and lacks sufficient preparation for parliament questioning.
The opposition parties, which dominate the upper house, have been calling for a longer session to secure enough time to hold budget committee sessions, which enable lengthy discussions on government policies.
As a compromise in the face of such strong calls, Hirano proposed to the LDP to hold the budget committees from both chambers of parliament from Sept. 26 to 29 after the four-day extraordinary session is adjourned.
Hirano also asked for the DPJ, LDP and the New Komeito to hold talks to discuss the draft for the third extra budget.
But the LDP and New Komeito rejected them and said they want an extension of the overall Diet session. The LDP, New Komeito and other opposition parties agreed in a meeting earlier in the day to press the DPJ and government for a 28-day extension of the current parliament session until Oct. 14.
Tanigaki told the lower house plenary session that the DPJ's move has ''greatly damaged the relationship of trust between the ruling and opposition camps'' and that the opposition will not readily engage in cross-party talks as sought by Noda.
