A no-confidence motion against the Cabinet of Prime Minister Naoto Kan failed in the Lower House on June 2, but it was a hollow victory for the beleaguered prime minister.
A no-confidence motion against the Cabinet of Prime Minister Naoto Kan failed in the Lower House on June 2, but it was a hollow victory for the beleaguered prime minister.
Kan staved off the motion that would have led to his downfall by telling a meeting of Democratic Party of Japan lawmakers that he would resign once a certain level of progress had been made in rebuilding efforts from the Great East Japan Earthquake as well as in dealing with the crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
"I want to pass on responsibility to a younger generation once we have fulfilled a certain role in dealing with the disasters," Kan said, just hours before the Lower House plenary session voted against the no-confidence motion.
A large bloc of DPJ members had threatened to vote in favor of the motion submitted by the opposition Liberal Democratic Party, New Komeito and the Sunrise Party of Japan. But Kan's promise to step down apparently changed their minds.
In the end, an overwhelming majority of 293 lawmakers voted against the motion compared with 152 who voted in favor.
The major focus of the vote was how many DPJ members loyal to power broker Ichiro Ozawa would join the opposition parties in voting for the motion.
As the vote approached, lawmakers hurriedly tried to avoid creating a political vacuum at a time when thousands of disaster victims are looking to the government for help in rebuilding lives shattered by the March 11 quake and tsunami.
Shizuka Kamei, head of coalition partner People's New Party, met with Kan on June 2 and urged him to resign as prime minister once measures had been implemented to deal with the nuclear accident.
Passage of the no-confidence motion in the Lower House would have meant that the Kan Cabinet would have to either resign en masse or Kan would have to dissolve the Lower House and call a snap election.
Either outcome would have delayed by weeks the passage of legislation through the Diet for rebuilding measures.
If Ozawa and his allies had voted for the motion, even if it failed, their actions would have created further problems for Kan in pushing through legislation as the head of government.
For all the attention focused on Ozawa's moves to topple Kan, Ozawa himself did not even attend the plenary session to vote on the no-confidence motion.
While Kan may have avoided the embarrassment of having a no-confidence motion passed, questions remain because he did not specify a date by which he would step down.
Critics of Kan took his speech at the DPJ lawmakers' meeting as a promise that he would resign.
For example, Yukio Hatoyama, Kan's predecessor as prime minister, stood up after Kan's speech and said: "I believe the prime minister has made a very important decision. I wanted progress on a basic law on the rebuilding process as well as a second supplementary budget. For that reason, I asked the prime minister to sacrifice his post. I ask all of you to act in a unified manner."
Later, the DPJ group close to Ozawa decided that while it would oppose the no-confidence motion, the final decision on how to vote would be left up to individual lawmakers.
Kan's sudden decision to voice his intention to step down was apparently due to the growing movement within the DPJ to vote in favor of the motion.
On the night of June 1, DPJ Secretary-General Katsuya Okada, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano and others agreed that if an increasing number of DPJ members decided to vote for the motion, it would lead to greater confusion within the party. They also agreed that they had to gain assurances from Kan that he would resign as a condition to persuade DPJ members to vote against the motion.
The officials compiled a document that said in part that Kan would pass on the leadership baton to a younger generation once measures to deal with the natural disasters had been implemented.
But there was also growing criticism among groups that normally support the DPJ about the move to oust Kan.
On June 2, Nobuaki Koga, president of Rengo (Japanese Trade Union Confederation), one of the DPJ's main backers, said: "I cannot understand at all why a no-confidence motion has to be submitted. In addition, it is extremely regrettable that there are some in the DPJ who are thinking about voting for the motion. The DPJ should show solidarity and vote down the motion."
The opposition parties were not weakening their attack on Kan.
LDP chief Sadakazu Tanigaki said: "While he said he would resign after a certain period of time, he made no mention of when he thought a certain level of the rebuilding process would be completed. To be honest, it was a farce."
Natsuo Yamaguchi, head of New Komeito, said: "What is (Kan) saying at this point in time? That will only lead to repeated measures to extend the life of his administration."
Moves within the DPJ will likely arise on finding someone to succeed Kan.
But the question remains over who would be palatable to a wide sector of the ruling party.
Disaster victims, who also expressed anger and confusion over the timing of the no-confidence motion, may face difficulties in obtaining support if Diet deliberations are delayed because greater attention is focused on picking Kan's successor.