Tokyo, 17 June, /AJMEDIA/
Japan’s House of Representatives on Friday voted down a no-confidence motion against the cabinet of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida submitted by the main opposition party, a day after he quelled speculation of an early dissolution of the chamber.
The Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan criticized Kishida in the motion for failing to fully explain how to fund key policies, including measures to bolster the nation’s defense capabilities and spark Japan’s rapidly declining birthrate.
After Kishida indicated Thursday he would not react to a no-confidence motion being tabled by calling a snap election during the ongoing Diet session through next Wednesday, the recognition that the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan hoped to garner was diminished, especially given the motion had little chance of being carried.
The submission of a no-confidence motion by opposition parties is not uncommon during the run-up to the closing of regular parliamentary sessions, typically convened in January.
If a no-confidence motion was approved in the lower house, the chamber would be dissolved within 10 days or all cabinet members would have to step down under a provision within Japan’s Constitution.
Every no-confidence motion moved in the last decade has been voted down in the lower house, which has been continuously under the control of the ruling bloc of the Liberal Democratic Party and its junior partner Komeito.
On Friday, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan tabled the motion after some key bills were passed, such as one aimed at promoting better public understanding of the LGBT community, at a plenary session of the House of Councillors, the nation’s upper house.
Among the opposition camp, the Japanese Communist Party voted in favor of the LGBT motion, but two relatively conservative forces — the Japan Innovation Party and the Democratic Party for the People — opposed it.
