ID :
165059
Tue, 03/01/2011 - 17:50
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https://www.oananews.org//node/165059
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Japan's fiscal 2011 budget clears lower house
TOKYO, March 1 Kyodo - Japan's record 92.41 trillion yen budget for fiscal 2011 cleared the powerful lower house of parliament Tuesday, paving the way for its enactment by March 31, but the prospects for securing the passage of other bills needed to put it completely into effect remain bleak.
Prime Minister Naoto Kan was still disappointed, however, as 16 lawmakers from his own ruling party abstained from voting on the budget plan in a plenary session of the House of Representatives, in addition to facing criticism from opposition parties.
Kan's Democratic Party of Japan decided Monday to go ahead with a vote on the budget plan in the lower house, although the Liberal Democratic Party and other opposition parties were opposed to the schedule.
The budget plan cleared the chamber in the early hours of Tuesday, enabling it to be enacted in time for the start of the next fiscal year on April 1.
Prior to the vote, opposition parties criticized the DPJ for fixing the schedule without hearing their own opinions.
The LDP, the New Komeito party, Your Party and the Sunrise Party of Japan jointly submitted a resolution demanding that Hiroshi Nakai, a DPJ member who chairs the budget panel, be removed from his position.
The LDP also brought forward a motion aimed at re-creating a budget plan for fiscal 2011, calling for the country's next annual general-account expenditures to be reduced to 89.35 trillion yen.
But the resolution and the motion were rejected by a majority of members in the 480-seat lower house, controlled by the DPJ-led coalition.
In addition to difficulties in cooperating with opposition parties, Kan, whose Cabinet's public support has slipped below 20 percent, has been finding it difficult to keep a firm grip on the ruling party in recent weeks.
The 16 DPJ lawmakers, who launched a revolt against Kan's leadership in mid-February, skipped voting on the budget plan.
''I'm really glad as its implementation is an urgent issue for the public,'' Kan told reporters after the budget's passage. But he described the 16 lawmakers' abstentions as ''disappointing.''
The abstentions did not block parliamentary passage of the budget. But they could have a big impact on the DPJ's governance, and if the lawmakers do the same for the related bills it will be even more difficult to get them approved.
The government's budget bill will clear the Diet by the end of the current fiscal year, although it has now been sent to the opposition-controlled upper house for deliberation.
The Constitution says the annual budget will be enacted within 30 days of being sent to the House of Councillors after the lower house's approval, even if the upper house rejects it or does not hold a vote on it.
But approval by March 31 is nowhere in sight for bills vital to implement parts of the 92.41 trillion yen budget, such as one that enables the government to issue deficit-covering bonds worth 38.21 trillion yen to fund the planned spending.
The related bills must be approved by the upper house or backed by a two-thirds majority when voted on again in the lower house, which the coalition lacks.
Due to the difficulties, the DPJ decided not to have a vote on the related bills in the lower house at the same time as a vote on the budget plan.
Kan, already Japan's fifth prime minister since 2006, is under pressure within and outside the DPJ to step down and call a general election. But he has said he is not willing to quit as prime minister in exchange for securing the early passage of the related bills.
The 16 DPJ lawmakers are associated with former DPJ leader Ichiro Ozawa, a longtime behind-the-scenes fixer in Japanese politics who has been critical of the way Kan has been running the government since he took office in June.
The DPJ leadership held an irregular meeting in the afternoon to discuss disciplinary measures against the 16 lawmakers.
The leadership decided to suspend the party membership of one of the 16, Koichiro Watanabe, who has acted as leader of the rebellion, for six months and reprimanded the rest of the lower house members.
The latest decision against them could worsen internal strife within the DPJ between pro- and anti-Ozawa lawmakers.
DPJ lawmakers who are supportive of Ozawa, the main architect of the DPJ's rise to power in 2009, have formed the largest intraparty group. Among others, many of them have been unhappy that the DPJ leadership recently decided to suspend Ozawa's party membership following his indictment in late January over a funds scandal.
Ozawa has denied any wrongdoing and said he will prove his innocence in court. He lost to Kan in the DPJ's presidential election last September.
Prime Minister Naoto Kan was still disappointed, however, as 16 lawmakers from his own ruling party abstained from voting on the budget plan in a plenary session of the House of Representatives, in addition to facing criticism from opposition parties.
Kan's Democratic Party of Japan decided Monday to go ahead with a vote on the budget plan in the lower house, although the Liberal Democratic Party and other opposition parties were opposed to the schedule.
The budget plan cleared the chamber in the early hours of Tuesday, enabling it to be enacted in time for the start of the next fiscal year on April 1.
Prior to the vote, opposition parties criticized the DPJ for fixing the schedule without hearing their own opinions.
The LDP, the New Komeito party, Your Party and the Sunrise Party of Japan jointly submitted a resolution demanding that Hiroshi Nakai, a DPJ member who chairs the budget panel, be removed from his position.
The LDP also brought forward a motion aimed at re-creating a budget plan for fiscal 2011, calling for the country's next annual general-account expenditures to be reduced to 89.35 trillion yen.
But the resolution and the motion were rejected by a majority of members in the 480-seat lower house, controlled by the DPJ-led coalition.
In addition to difficulties in cooperating with opposition parties, Kan, whose Cabinet's public support has slipped below 20 percent, has been finding it difficult to keep a firm grip on the ruling party in recent weeks.
The 16 DPJ lawmakers, who launched a revolt against Kan's leadership in mid-February, skipped voting on the budget plan.
''I'm really glad as its implementation is an urgent issue for the public,'' Kan told reporters after the budget's passage. But he described the 16 lawmakers' abstentions as ''disappointing.''
The abstentions did not block parliamentary passage of the budget. But they could have a big impact on the DPJ's governance, and if the lawmakers do the same for the related bills it will be even more difficult to get them approved.
The government's budget bill will clear the Diet by the end of the current fiscal year, although it has now been sent to the opposition-controlled upper house for deliberation.
The Constitution says the annual budget will be enacted within 30 days of being sent to the House of Councillors after the lower house's approval, even if the upper house rejects it or does not hold a vote on it.
But approval by March 31 is nowhere in sight for bills vital to implement parts of the 92.41 trillion yen budget, such as one that enables the government to issue deficit-covering bonds worth 38.21 trillion yen to fund the planned spending.
The related bills must be approved by the upper house or backed by a two-thirds majority when voted on again in the lower house, which the coalition lacks.
Due to the difficulties, the DPJ decided not to have a vote on the related bills in the lower house at the same time as a vote on the budget plan.
Kan, already Japan's fifth prime minister since 2006, is under pressure within and outside the DPJ to step down and call a general election. But he has said he is not willing to quit as prime minister in exchange for securing the early passage of the related bills.
The 16 DPJ lawmakers are associated with former DPJ leader Ichiro Ozawa, a longtime behind-the-scenes fixer in Japanese politics who has been critical of the way Kan has been running the government since he took office in June.
The DPJ leadership held an irregular meeting in the afternoon to discuss disciplinary measures against the 16 lawmakers.
The leadership decided to suspend the party membership of one of the 16, Koichiro Watanabe, who has acted as leader of the rebellion, for six months and reprimanded the rest of the lower house members.
The latest decision against them could worsen internal strife within the DPJ between pro- and anti-Ozawa lawmakers.
DPJ lawmakers who are supportive of Ozawa, the main architect of the DPJ's rise to power in 2009, have formed the largest intraparty group. Among others, many of them have been unhappy that the DPJ leadership recently decided to suspend Ozawa's party membership following his indictment in late January over a funds scandal.
Ozawa has denied any wrongdoing and said he will prove his innocence in court. He lost to Kan in the DPJ's presidential election last September.
