Tokyo, July 13: Japan’s main Opposition party on Monday said that it has submitted a no-confidence motion to parliament against the Prime Minister and his Cabinet.
Democratic Party of Japan spokesman Toshiaki Oikawa said the motion was submitted together with other Opposition parties.
The motion was delivered on Monday, after a news report quoted Prime Minister Taro Aso as saying that he would dissolve Parliament next week and call national elections on August 30 after his party was defeated in a Tokyo municipal poll considered a barometer of voter sentiment
Broadcaster NHK and Kyodo News said Taro Aso would dissolve the powerful Lower House of Parliament next week, and that national elections would be held August 30.
Spokesmen at the Liberal Democratic Party headquarters and the Prime Minister’s Office said they had no knowledge of the matter.
Aso’s Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner lost their majority on Sunday in the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly, the local Parliament for the Japanese capital and most populated prefecture.
The Tokyo vote was closely watched as sign of how Aso’s ruling party would fare against the main opposition Democratic Party of Japan in a General Election, which must take place by October. In the Japanese political system the head of the party that has control of the national Parliament generally becomes Prime Minister.
Aso has suffered low approval ratings as Japan’s economy stumbles toward deflation and political wrangling delayed the passing of legislation.
As Prime Minister he can call a General Election at any time, but had apparently been waiting, gambling that his political situation could improve.
The dire results of the Tokyo election seemed to have forced his hand. An emboldened opposition could gain momentum and do further political damage. Kyodo News reported Monday that the Democrats would introduce a no-confidence resolution and censure motion in Parliament against Aso.
—Agencies