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186458
Sat, 06/04/2011 - 18:41
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https://oananews.org//node/186458
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Kan to step down by Aug., to put through 3 bills before quitting
TOKYO, June 4 Kyodo -
Prime Minister Naoto Kan plans to step down by August due to renewed calls from the opposition and within his ruling Democratic Party of Japan for his early resignation after he made remarks suggesting he would stay on until around January, his aides and DPJ sources said Saturday.
Kan separately told senior DPJ lawmaker Hajime Ishii that he will go through with three matters to be approved by parliament, including a bill for the reconstruction of areas hit by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, before stepping down, according to Ishii.
Ishii told reporters that Kan explained to him during their talks about his intention to see that the reconstruction bill, the second extra budget for fiscal 2011 and a bill for a special law on government bond issuance are passed by the Diet.
Kan, who doubles as DPJ president, has told an influential lawmaker that he did not mean to suggest he will remain in office until January and that he envisages quitting after compiling and submitting to the Diet the second extra budget around July to August, the sources said.
The DPJ leadership is arranging to hold the party's presidential election in September, with possible candidates including Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda and Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshito Sengoku, according to the sources.
But the timing of Kan's resignation and subsequent party presidential election could be moved forward as there are growing calls within the DPJ for the prime minister to resign by the end of June to avoid prolonged political confusion.
Kan survived a no-confidence motion in parliament Thursday just after telling a meeting of DPJ members that he will quit once he makes tangible progress in rebuilding the disaster-hit northeastern region and containing the nuclear crisis, changing the minds of some DPJ lawmakers who had planned to vote for the motion out of frustration over his handling of the disaster.
But later that day, he suggested at a news conference that he is considering remaining as prime minister until the crisis-hit nuclear power plant's overheating reactors are stabilized.
The remark led many to think he intends to stay on until January as the stabilization is expected to be achieved by that month based on the road map of Tokyo Electric Power Co., operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant crippled by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.
His words enraged the lawmakers who had helped vote down the opposition-sponsored motion in the House of Representatives on the premise he would step down soon.
Kan apparently determined thereafter that it would be difficult for him to remain in his post for long considering the reaction of the fellow DPJ members, according to the sources.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano on Saturday denied that Kan will remain in office until the turn of the year and indicated he will step down by the summer.
''Nobody thinks he will stay (in office) until that late. (Mr. Kan) does not intend to hang on that long,'' said Edano during a political debate program on TV Tokyo, in reference to Kan's suggested willingness to remain in office until January.
''His hope to hand over (the government) to a younger generation before long is very clear,'' Edano added.
About Kan's planned visit to the United States slated for early September, Edano said Kan never said he will attend the Japan-U.S. summit, suggesting that he thinks Kan will step down by the end of August.
Meanwhile, Nobuteru Ishihara, secretary general of the main opposition Liberal Democratic Party, said the LDP will oust the prime minister at the end of June, indicating that his party may submit a censure motion against the prime minister to the House of Councillors by that time.
With even members of his Cabinet starting to push Kan into a corner, Katsumasa Suzuki, senior vice internal affairs and communications minister, told reporters in Nagoya that the prime minister should step down once the opposition submits a censure motion to the upper house.
With Kan likely to step down this summer, the DPJ, the LDP and the New Komeito party could activate backroom negotiations on the possibility of forming a grand coalition as the two opposition parties have indicated that cooperation between ruling and opposition parties would be possible once Kan resigns.
Concerning Kan's intention to quit by August, LDP President Sadakazu Tanigaki told Kyodo News that prolonging resignation for three months is ''not a graceful way for the top leader to quit.''
New Komeito party leader Natsuo Yamaguchi said, ''That means creating a political vacuum for nearly three months. (Kan) should not waste even a day to step down.''
==Kyodo
Prime Minister Naoto Kan plans to step down by August due to renewed calls from the opposition and within his ruling Democratic Party of Japan for his early resignation after he made remarks suggesting he would stay on until around January, his aides and DPJ sources said Saturday.
Kan separately told senior DPJ lawmaker Hajime Ishii that he will go through with three matters to be approved by parliament, including a bill for the reconstruction of areas hit by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, before stepping down, according to Ishii.
Ishii told reporters that Kan explained to him during their talks about his intention to see that the reconstruction bill, the second extra budget for fiscal 2011 and a bill for a special law on government bond issuance are passed by the Diet.
Kan, who doubles as DPJ president, has told an influential lawmaker that he did not mean to suggest he will remain in office until January and that he envisages quitting after compiling and submitting to the Diet the second extra budget around July to August, the sources said.
The DPJ leadership is arranging to hold the party's presidential election in September, with possible candidates including Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda and Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshito Sengoku, according to the sources.
But the timing of Kan's resignation and subsequent party presidential election could be moved forward as there are growing calls within the DPJ for the prime minister to resign by the end of June to avoid prolonged political confusion.
Kan survived a no-confidence motion in parliament Thursday just after telling a meeting of DPJ members that he will quit once he makes tangible progress in rebuilding the disaster-hit northeastern region and containing the nuclear crisis, changing the minds of some DPJ lawmakers who had planned to vote for the motion out of frustration over his handling of the disaster.
But later that day, he suggested at a news conference that he is considering remaining as prime minister until the crisis-hit nuclear power plant's overheating reactors are stabilized.
The remark led many to think he intends to stay on until January as the stabilization is expected to be achieved by that month based on the road map of Tokyo Electric Power Co., operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant crippled by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.
His words enraged the lawmakers who had helped vote down the opposition-sponsored motion in the House of Representatives on the premise he would step down soon.
Kan apparently determined thereafter that it would be difficult for him to remain in his post for long considering the reaction of the fellow DPJ members, according to the sources.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano on Saturday denied that Kan will remain in office until the turn of the year and indicated he will step down by the summer.
''Nobody thinks he will stay (in office) until that late. (Mr. Kan) does not intend to hang on that long,'' said Edano during a political debate program on TV Tokyo, in reference to Kan's suggested willingness to remain in office until January.
''His hope to hand over (the government) to a younger generation before long is very clear,'' Edano added.
About Kan's planned visit to the United States slated for early September, Edano said Kan never said he will attend the Japan-U.S. summit, suggesting that he thinks Kan will step down by the end of August.
Meanwhile, Nobuteru Ishihara, secretary general of the main opposition Liberal Democratic Party, said the LDP will oust the prime minister at the end of June, indicating that his party may submit a censure motion against the prime minister to the House of Councillors by that time.
With even members of his Cabinet starting to push Kan into a corner, Katsumasa Suzuki, senior vice internal affairs and communications minister, told reporters in Nagoya that the prime minister should step down once the opposition submits a censure motion to the upper house.
With Kan likely to step down this summer, the DPJ, the LDP and the New Komeito party could activate backroom negotiations on the possibility of forming a grand coalition as the two opposition parties have indicated that cooperation between ruling and opposition parties would be possible once Kan resigns.
Concerning Kan's intention to quit by August, LDP President Sadakazu Tanigaki told Kyodo News that prolonging resignation for three months is ''not a graceful way for the top leader to quit.''
New Komeito party leader Natsuo Yamaguchi said, ''That means creating a political vacuum for nearly three months. (Kan) should not waste even a day to step down.''
==Kyodo
