Kan asks minor party to join coalition, offers Cabinet post+

TOKYO, Dec. 24 Kyodo -
Prime Minister Naoto Kan has called on the minor opposition Sunrise Party of
Japan to join his coalition government and offered it a Cabinet post, party
lawmakers said Friday, at a time when Kan is desperate for support outside the
coalition to secure the smooth passage of bills through the divided Diet next
year.
But the Sunrise Party appears unwilling to join the two-party ruling coalition
that includes the People's New Party, with Secretary General Hiroyuki Sonoda
saying that it does not trust Kan, who also heads the DPJ, and that his party's
basic policy is to continue confronting the DPJ.
Kan made the overture to Kaoru Yosano, one of the two leaders of the Sunrise
Party, which has six parliamentarians, during their meeting at the premier's
official residence in Tokyo on the evening of Nov. 18, according to the
lawmakers.
DPJ Secretary General Katsuya Okada also asked Takeo Hiranuma, the other
leader, in their meeting in Tokyo on Wednesday, they said.
In an interview with media organizations Friday, however, Kan said he had not
made any official offer to the party.
''People in various positions including myself and Secretary General Okada have
each held face-to-face or telephone talks with various people, but if you are
asking about something official, I'm not aware of that,'' he said.
Kan nonetheless added that he hopes to build a consensus with the opposition
camp over challenging issues such as the rebuilding of public finances and
ensuring a solid social security system as he doubts that any party on its own
can solve such issues.
The ruling coalition will need the support of at least six lawmakers from the
opposition bloc in a House of Representatives revote on bills required to
implement the fiscal 2011 budget if, as expected, the bills are voted down in
the opposition-controlled House of Councillors.
The DPJ has also been seeking to secure the cooperation of another opposition
party -- the Social Democratic Party -- which used to be in the ruling
coalition and has six lower house lawmakers.
The Sunrise Party has three members each in both houses of parliament, all of
whom have held ministerial or high-level government posts.
Meanwhile, Sadakazu Tanigaki, president of the main opposition Liberal
Democratic Party, threatened Friday to boycott Diet deliberations during the
ordinary session set to convene in January, if Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshito
Sengoku remains in his post despite the upper house's adoption of a censure
motion against him in November.
''It is the political will of the upper house,'' Tanigaki said in an interview
with Kyodo News. ''If he disregards it, relations between the Diet and the
Cabinet will not go smoothly.''
Tanigaki also said it is a ''mission given to the LDP'' to drive the Kan
government to dissolve the lower house for an election next year.
''Since the support ratings for his Cabinet are low, I suppose Prime Minister
Kan doesn't want to dissolve (the Diet). It won't be easy, but we will force
him (to do so) by various means,'' Tanigaki said.
==Kyodo
2010-12-24 22:38:13


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