Japanese PM faces no-confidence motion

Tokyo, Japan (AHN) – A political tremor may hit Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan as the opposition plan to file a no-confidence motion.

The Liberal Democratic Party and New Komeito are ready to submit their joint motion as early as Wednesday. The vote appears to be a test of the legislator’s trust in Kan, particularly the way he handled the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear crisis.

Even within the Democratic Party of Japan, which Kan heads, there is dissatisfaction with the prime minister’s performance.

Former LDP Secretary General Hidenao Nakagawa went one step ahead of the no-confidence vote and challenged Kan to resign from his position. Nakagawa cited as basis for his quit call to Kan a recent survey which found that 80 percent of respondents did not trust the government’s announcements on the damaged nuclear plant.

Kan said he would not resign. He said he has the duty to resolve the nuclear crisis at all cost. Kan could even beat the no-confidence motion by dissolving the Lower House of the Japanese Diet and calling an election.

Kan is not only struggling with the Fukushima Daiichi crisis, but also with other economic problems caused by the magnitude 9 temblor that shook Japan on March 11.

Data from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications released on Tuesday showed that the country’s unemployment rate went up to 4.7 percent in April. However, the figure excludes the impact of the earthquake on the Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima Prefectures, which saw widespread infrastructure damage and job losses.

The Labor Department also reported that average salaries in the third-richest economy shrank in April for the second consecutive month by 1.4 percent, although industrial production for the same month grew by 1 percent.

The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear crisis made ratings agency Standard & Poor’s downgrade to junk status, the credit rating of the operator of the ill-fated facility, Tokyo Electric Power Company. The utility firm’s rating drastically went down by five notices because of uncertainty of government bailout for Tokyo Electric.

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