Japan party execs bracing for possibility of Diet dissolution
Political maneuvering intensified Tuesday amid suggestions by ruling party officials that a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's cabinet could increase the chances of him dissolving parliament for an election.
Ruling party lawmakers left the door open for Ishiba to call a snap election in what appeared to be a warning to the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, the only force able to submit a no-confidence motion on its own.
Tensions rose after a source close to the leadership quoted Ishiba as telling aides that dissolving the House of Representatives was "in sight," fueling speculation he may act before a no-confidence vote is put to the lower house, which the ruling coalition no longer controls.
CDPJ leader Yoshihiko Noda, who has said the party will decide "from a broad perspective," said Tuesday that Ishiba's reported intention suggests the government and ruling coalition "do not mind creating a political vacuum" by dissolving the powerful chamber.
"If that's the case, this will be one factor" for the CDPJ to determine whether a motion is necessary, Noda told a meeting of fellow members.
Speculation has grown that the CDPJ may forgo submitting a no-confidence motion after reaching an agreement with the ruling coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party and the Komeito party on a key element of pension reforms.
Under the Constitution, if a no-confidence motion is approved, the prime minister must dissolve the lower house, or the Cabinet must resign within 10 days.
Ishiba's minority government is scrambling to reverse a surge in rice prices driven largely by a poor harvest while also trying to persuade U.S. President Donald Trump to roll back higher tariffs on products from Japan, a longtime U.S. ally.
"If Mr. Noda aims to realize a change of government, his party should submit a no-confidence motion," Yuichiro Tamaki, who heads the Democratic Party for the People, told a press conference.
Asked if the DPP would jointly submit one with the CDPJ, Tamaki said, "We will consider (the possibility) depending on the situation."
If the 465-member lower house is dissolved, it would mark the second general election in a year, following the October vote in which Ishiba's LDP and Komeito performed poorly. A separate election to replace half of the 248-member upper house is due this summer.
Komeito, the junior coalition partner of the LDP, however, rejected the idea of holding the elections for both houses this summer.
"We should seek voters' judgments for each house according to the length of the respective terms stipulated in the Constitution," Komeito Secretary General Makoto Nishida said at a press conference.
Lower house members serve four-year terms unless the chamber is dissolved, while upper house members serve six years.
LDP Secretary General Hiroshi Moriyama, a close aide to Ishiba, said the prime minister will make "the right decision at the right time," adding that the decision rests solely with him.
© KYODO
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