Japan PM censured in upper house, unlikely to quit
11 Jun 2008 10:10:35 GMT Source: Reuters
(For related stories click [ID:nT345568] and [ID:nT344212]) (Updates with Fukuda, opposition chief comment) By Linda Sieg TOKYO, June 11 (Reuters) - Japan's unpopular prime minister, Yasuo Fukuda, suffered an unprecedented censure in parliament's upper house on Wednesday, but the embarrassing opposition move was not expected to force him to resign or call a snap poll soon. The opposition Democratic Party and smaller allies approved the non-binding censure motion by a vote of 131-105, the first against a prime minister under the current 1947 constitution, in an effort to build momentum for an early lower house election. Ruling party officials brushed off the censure, which comes less than a month before Fukuda hosts a Group of Eight summit, as a political gesture and submitted a confidence motion to the powerful lower chamber as a counter-move. Asked if he would refrain from calling an election within this year, Fukuda told reporters: "I am not thinking of that at the moment." No election for the powerful lower chamber need be held until September 2009, but Democratic Party leader Ichiro Ozawa has made no secret of his desire to force an early poll in the hope of ousting Fukuda's conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which has ruled Japan for almost all of the past six decades. Fukuda's support rates have sunk to below 20 percent in some polls on doubts about his ability to cope with a divided parliament, although there have been recent signs the fall is bottoming out. The opposition controls the upper house and has delayed legislation and blocked key appointments, including the government's first two choices for Bank of Japan governor. "Prolonged power corrupts and politics has fallen into a situation where the ruling bloc is not thinking of the people's livelihood but only their own interests," Ozawa told a news conference. "Criticism of the administration is growing and ultimately, the only way to resolve this is to seek the judgment of the people in a general election," he added. ELDERLY OUTRAGE Many Japanese voters would be happy to see the LDP lose its grip on power, but also have doubts about whether the Democrats, an often fractious group of former LDP members, ex-socialists and hawkish younger lawmakers, are ready to take the reins. "I think the ruling party in Japan needs to change ... Our generation is the one that needs to push this kind of political change," said 33-year-old secretary Kanako Koga. The 71-year-old Fukuda, a moderate known for favouring closer ties with Asian neighbours, has already indicated that he has no plan to step down as a result of the censure, which unlike a lower house no-confidence motion has no legal clout. On Monday he told a news conference that his first priority was to deal with policy issues rather than call an election. Ruling bloc lawmakers are reluctant to risk an election that could well see them lose a two-thirds majority in the lower house that allows them to override most upper house vetoes. MARKET EYES ELSEWHERE Tokyo stock market players, many of whom have already given up hope that Fukuda will implement bold reform policies, had little interest in Japan's political saga. "Political risk isn't something anybody's watching here. They're keeping their eyes out for companies' performances and with what happens to the global economy," said Hiroaki Osakabe, a fund manager at Chibagin Asset Management. Data released on Wednesday showed Japan's economic growth revised up to 1 percent for the first quarter but it may be a last hurrah for the world's No.2 economy as surging raw material prices and a global economic slowdown bite. Some said, however, that the political deadlock could worry markets if the stalemate persisted after the July 7-9 G8 summit. Seeking to counter the censure, the ruling bloc submitted a confidence motion in parliament's lower house. Speculation persists that Fukuda could step down after hosting the G8 summit in northern Japan or that the LDP may replace him with former Foreign Minister Taro Aso or some other potentially more popular rival, perhaps later this year or early in 2009. The censure targeted Fukuda for alleged missteps including the the revival of an unpopular petrol tax, bungling of public pension records, and an unpopular new medical insurance scheme that forces some people aged 75 and over to pay more. The confusing system outraged many elderly voters, long a core LDP constituency, and the Democrats want to abolish it. No censure motion has been adopted against a prime minister under Japan's post-World War Two constitution, but in 1998 then Defence Minister Fukushiro Nukaga -- who now holds the finance minister portfolio -- was forced to resign about a month after the upper house approved a censure motion against him. (Additional reporting by Mari Saito, Isabel Reynolds, Elaine Lies and Teruaki Ueno; editing by Sophie Hardach)
