FOCUS: New stimulus stirs speculation about timing of Diet dissolution+

TOKYO, April 10 Kyodo - Prime Minister Taro Aso's announcement of an extra budget proposal for fiscal 2009 has triggered speculation among House of Representatives lawmakers about when the prime minister will dissolve the lower chamber for an election.

The 68-year-old Japanese leader, who has been emboldened by the revelation last
month of a fundraising scandal involving archrival Democratic Party of Japan
President Ichiro Ozawa, has said that he will decide on the timing of a
dissolution depending on how the DPJ-led opposition camp responds to the extra
budget and related bills.
Speaking at a news conference Friday, Aso said, ''We should contest an election
after making clear what is being contested. It would be desirable for the
public to choose after carefully examining the campaign policies of the two
main parties.''
To finance Aso's extra budget, the largest ever involving 15.4 trillion yen of
actual spending, the government plans to issue deficit-covering bonds worth 7
trillion to 8 trillion yen, bringing the total amount of such bond issuance in
a single fiscal year to over 30 trillion yen.
The extra budget, which would allow for massive bond issuance, is ''nothing but
an election ploy (by the Liberal Democratic Party),'' said a senior official of
the New Komeito party, the LDP's junior coalition partner.
An LDP executive said, ''It would be better for us to contest (the election)
over the extra budget so that we can appeal to the public by saying, 'If you
vote for us, you will see these steps realized,' rather than holding an
election following passage of the extra budget.''
''We're compiling all conceivable economic measures at this point,'' LDP
Election Strategy Council Chairman Makoto Koga said Wednesday. ''Now, we can
hear the drumbeat of an election just around the corner.''
But many lawmakers are cautious about holding an election before the extra
budget and related bills clear the Diet.
LDP General Council Chairman Takashi Sasagawa told a press conference Thursday
that the package ''would turn out to be pie in the sky'' if the government only
presents the package but dissolves the Diet before it is passed.
Furthermore, if an election were called before the package is passed, it would
mark another flip-flop for Aso who has refused to dissolve the lower chamber
since taking office last September, saying he needs to focus on reviving the
recession-hit economy.
To figure out the best timing for a dissolution, the unpopular Aso is also
closely watching developments surrounding Ozawa, who is struggling with
declining popularity ratings because of the scandal in which his top secretary
was arrested and indicted for breaching the political funds control law.
Political pundits say that shortly after Aso decides to dissolve the lower
house, the DPJ could remove Ozawa and tap a new leader so as to give fresh
impetus to the party, which had looked set to oust the LDP from power in the
next election until the scandal broke in early March.
Aso's voter ratings have improved somewhat this month, apparently thanks to
Ozawa's troubles, after slumping to single-digit levels at one point due to a
series of policy flip-flops and verbal gaffes.
The national election for the lower house must be held by the fall, as the
terms of the members of the 480-seat chamber will expire on Sept. 10.
==Kyodo
2009-04-10 22:38:19