Japan`s political parties eyeing Diet resolution to condemn N. Korea

TOKYO, Nov. 24 Kyodo -
The ruling and opposition political parties are considering adopting a Diet
resolution condemning North Korea for its deadly artillery attack on a South
Korean island, lawmakers said Wednesday.
A day after the North's barrage, the main ruling and opposition parties agreed
to vote on the resolution in both chambers of parliament, the lawmakers said.
But Prime Minister Naoto Kan's Democratic Party of Japan and the main
opposition Liberal Democratic Party have yet to decide on when to adopt such a
resolution, they said.
Although the DPJ and the LDP appear to be united against North Korea, rifts
persist between them over other Diet proceedings.
Kan is hoping the LDP will not submit a censure motion against Chief Cabinet
Secretary Yoshito Sengoku, as Japan faces an urgent need to deal with security
issues following Pyongyang's bombardment of Yeonpyeong Island near the two
Koreas' disputed western border.
Kan held a meeting with opposition party leaders in the afternoon to explain
how the government has so far dealt with the latest clash between the two
Koreas.
Kan promised them that he would continue to provide information on North Korea
when necessary, the lawmakers said.
LDP President Sadakazu Tanigaki proposed that parliamentarians hold intensive
deliberations on the North's shelling during the ongoing extraordinary Diet
session.
But Kan voiced reservations over the proposal saying that the Diet must first
pass the extra budget for the current fiscal year to finance additional
economic stimulus.
The LDP has decided to forego submitting censure motions against Sengoku --
Kan's right-hand man -- and Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism
Minister Sumio Mabuchi to the House of Councillors before the chamber's voting
on the budget, according to LDP lawmakers.
Tanigaki said the North's attack ''is a problem that has a serious impact on
Japan's peace and security.''
''Opposition parties need to fully cooperate with the government,'' Tanigaki
said at a news conference.
The ruling and opposition camps have agreed to hold voting on the budget
Friday, the lawmakers said.
The extra budget for the year through March 31 will likely be rejected by the
House of Councillors. But it is likely to clear the Diet as the ruling bloc
controls the lower house, which can override a decision by the upper house
under the Constitution.
It remains uncertain, however, whether the LDP will completely abandon its plan
to introduce the two motions.
The LDP and other opposition parties have criticized Sengoku and Mabuchi for
their handling of collisions between a Chinese trawler and Japanese patrol
boats off the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea in September, which
reignited a territorial dispute between Japan and China.
==Kyodo