Lower house passes motion of confidence in Fukuda to counter censure

Tokyo, June 13 Kyodo - The ruling bloc-dominated House of Representatives approved on Thursday a resolution of confidence in Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda's Cabinet to counter the passage of a nonbinding censure motion against Fukuda in the opposition-controlled House of Councillors a day earlier.

The Diet is expected to adjourn on June 21 in a paralyzed state, given that the
Democratic Party of Japan and two other opposition parties have agreed to
boycott deliberations following the upper house's approval of the censure
motion, the first passed against a prime minister under the current
Constitution.

Fukuda and the government, on the other hand, welcomed the lower house's
confidence vote as an endorsement for the Cabinet to carry on its work, but the
DPJ said the resolution is ''far from the public's will.''

Speaking to reporters in the evening, Fukuda said, ''As I've got a vote of
confidence, I believe I'm being told to carry on working hard.''

The resolution, submitted by the ruling coalition of Fukuda's Liberal
Democratic Party and the New Komeito party on Wednesday, was approved by a
336-10 vote in a lower house plenary session without the presence of the DPJ,
the Social Democratic Party and the People's New Party. The Japanese Communist
Party voted against the resolution.

Although Fukuda is unlikely to resign or dissolve the lower house for a general
election in the wake of the upper house's action, the ruling parties decided
that swift passage of a confidence resolution in the more powerful lower house,
where they hold a two-thirds majority, would highlight the legitimacy of the
prime minister's continuing in office.

In submitting the resolution, the ruling parties said the Fukuda Cabinet is
''faithfully fulfilling its responsibility'' and that all ministers are
''qualified to be in charge of state affairs.''

The last time the lower house approved a confidence resolution was in 1992
under then Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa during a tug-of-war over a bill
related to Japanese cooperation for U.N. peacekeeping operations. Such a
resolution had not been submitted since.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura said at a press conference in the
afternoon, ''We're very grateful we gained overwhelming confidence from the
LDP, the New Komeito and the independents.''

But DPJ Acting President Naoto Kan said the seats the ruling parties currently
hold in the lower house were secured in the 2005 general election under popular
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and that ''no matter how much Prime Minister
Fukuda gains support from that outcome, it will be very far from the current
public will.''

Kan also demanded that Fukuda, who took office last September, resign or
dissolve the lower house for an election to test his public mandate.

Given that the lower house's current four-year term runs until September next
year, Fukuda, who is struggling against sagging support ratings, would seem to
favor delaying a general election for as long as possible, fearing the ruling
parties could lose the overwhelming majority they hold in the chamber.

Meanwhile, the ruling parties asked the heads of both Diet chambers on Thursday
to extend the current Diet session for six days beyond the scheduled end on
Sunday.

The extension is expected to be approved in a lower house plenary session to be
convened Friday.

The latest clash between the ruling and opposition parties has centered largely
on a new healthcare insurance program for seniors aged 75 or older.

The program, introduced in April, has been criticized for placing a heavier
financial burden on elderly people with low incomes, leading the opposition
parties to submit a bill to scrap the program.

But facing ruling party resistance to the bill, the DPJ, the SDP and the PNP
decided to jointly introduce a censure motion against Fukuda, according to the
three opposition parties' explanation.

Like a binding no-confidence resolution, approving a confidence resolution is a
procedure only the lower house is allowed to take under the Constitution.

If a no-confidence resolution is approved or a confidence resolution is voted
down, the prime minister has to dissolve the lower house for a general election
or resign, along with his Cabinet ministers.
==Kyodo