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165640
Thu, 03/03/2011 - 14:36
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https://www.oananews.org//node/165640
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Lawmaker tries to leave Kan's DPJ at critical time
TOKYO, March 3 Kyodo - A Democratic Party of Japan lawmaker tried to leave the ruling party on Thursday, dealing a fresh blow to Prime Minister Naoto Kan as he faces an uphill battle to secure enough support in parliament to pass bills vital for the fiscal 2011 budget.
The first-term lower house member, Yuko Sato, notified the DPJ leadership of her intention to join a regional political group launched by Nagoya Mayor Takashi Kawamura.
But DPJ Secretary General Katsuya Okada did not accept and asked her to remain in the party.
''I was told to rethink...but I won't change my mind,'' Sato told reporters after meeting with Okada. ''The current DPJ is a bit different from what it was when I got elected in 2009.''
Sato said she wants to leave the DPJ as she is opposed to the party leadership's stance on reviewing its election promises and raising taxes to rebuild Japan's tattered public finances.
Sato's move is the latest sign of the unpopularity of the government of DPJ leader Kan, who is facing growing pressure within and outside the party to quit or call a general election.
She could be the first parliamentarian to leave the DPJ in protest at Kan's leadership since he took the helm of the government and the party in June.
Her decision also comes after 16 other DPJ lower house members, close to Kan's rival Ichiro Ozawa, threatened to leave its parliamentary group and Kenko Matsuki, one of the lawmakers closest to the scandal-hit heavyweight, resigned from a senior government post last month.
Kan reacted calmly to Sato's decision when he met the press in the evening. ''Oh, this case is now being handled by the secretary general and I believe he will address it properly,'' the premier said.
Top government spokesman Yukio Edano criticized Sato at a news conference, saying, ''This kind of action won't make sense to the public.''
Edano said he is disappointed that there are some lawmakers within the DPJ who do not appear to know how to behave as ruling party lawmakers.
''It is now time for the government and the ruling coalition to get united, enact the budget and related bills, and be responsible for taking care of people's lives,'' Edano said.
Sato, who represents Aichi Prefecture's No. 1 single-seat constituency, plans to join Kawamura's Genzei Nippon (Tax Cut Japan) party, founded last April.
Kawamura, who used to be a DPJ lawmaker, welcomed Sato's decision, telling reporters that he has gained ''powerful support'' in his bid to assemble tax cut advocates at the national political level.
The 62-year-old mayor has indicated that his party will put up at least five candidates in Aichi Prefecture's 15 single-seat constituencies at the next general election for the House of Representatives to be called by August 2013.
Sato's intention to leave the DPJ at this time is also aimed at supporting the regional party's candidates in the March 13 Nagoya municipal assembly election.
Sato, 48, who served as a secretary to Kawamura while he was a lower house member, ran in the Aug. 30, 2009, general election and won a parliamentary seat. She belongs to a group of first-term lawmakers supportive of Ozawa, the main architect of the DPJ's landslide victory in the general election but who lost to Kan in the party presidential contest last year.
Sato said she was asked by Okada to hold a meeting again after the local election to discuss her fate.
''I hope that she will withdraw her letter of resignation,'' Okada said at a news conference, adding that he has asked Sato not to support the regional party in the Nagoya assembly election campaign, starting Friday, as DPJ candidates are having a hard time.
The DPJ leadership is considering expelling Sato from the party, instead of allowing her to leave, if she does not change her position, according to party executives.
To help prevent a recurrence of such action, the leadership deems it necessary to take strict measures against Sato should she continue to disregard their order, they said.
Kan has been struggling to avoid legislative gridlock and regain a firm grip on the DPJ after appearing to suggest the possibility of raising the current 5 percent consumption tax, which was blamed for the party's stinging defeat in the upper house election last July.
The DPJ-led coalition now only controls the more powerful lower house. But it lacks the two-thirds majority required to override upper house votes.
The first-term lower house member, Yuko Sato, notified the DPJ leadership of her intention to join a regional political group launched by Nagoya Mayor Takashi Kawamura.
But DPJ Secretary General Katsuya Okada did not accept and asked her to remain in the party.
''I was told to rethink...but I won't change my mind,'' Sato told reporters after meeting with Okada. ''The current DPJ is a bit different from what it was when I got elected in 2009.''
Sato said she wants to leave the DPJ as she is opposed to the party leadership's stance on reviewing its election promises and raising taxes to rebuild Japan's tattered public finances.
Sato's move is the latest sign of the unpopularity of the government of DPJ leader Kan, who is facing growing pressure within and outside the party to quit or call a general election.
She could be the first parliamentarian to leave the DPJ in protest at Kan's leadership since he took the helm of the government and the party in June.
Her decision also comes after 16 other DPJ lower house members, close to Kan's rival Ichiro Ozawa, threatened to leave its parliamentary group and Kenko Matsuki, one of the lawmakers closest to the scandal-hit heavyweight, resigned from a senior government post last month.
Kan reacted calmly to Sato's decision when he met the press in the evening. ''Oh, this case is now being handled by the secretary general and I believe he will address it properly,'' the premier said.
Top government spokesman Yukio Edano criticized Sato at a news conference, saying, ''This kind of action won't make sense to the public.''
Edano said he is disappointed that there are some lawmakers within the DPJ who do not appear to know how to behave as ruling party lawmakers.
''It is now time for the government and the ruling coalition to get united, enact the budget and related bills, and be responsible for taking care of people's lives,'' Edano said.
Sato, who represents Aichi Prefecture's No. 1 single-seat constituency, plans to join Kawamura's Genzei Nippon (Tax Cut Japan) party, founded last April.
Kawamura, who used to be a DPJ lawmaker, welcomed Sato's decision, telling reporters that he has gained ''powerful support'' in his bid to assemble tax cut advocates at the national political level.
The 62-year-old mayor has indicated that his party will put up at least five candidates in Aichi Prefecture's 15 single-seat constituencies at the next general election for the House of Representatives to be called by August 2013.
Sato's intention to leave the DPJ at this time is also aimed at supporting the regional party's candidates in the March 13 Nagoya municipal assembly election.
Sato, 48, who served as a secretary to Kawamura while he was a lower house member, ran in the Aug. 30, 2009, general election and won a parliamentary seat. She belongs to a group of first-term lawmakers supportive of Ozawa, the main architect of the DPJ's landslide victory in the general election but who lost to Kan in the party presidential contest last year.
Sato said she was asked by Okada to hold a meeting again after the local election to discuss her fate.
''I hope that she will withdraw her letter of resignation,'' Okada said at a news conference, adding that he has asked Sato not to support the regional party in the Nagoya assembly election campaign, starting Friday, as DPJ candidates are having a hard time.
The DPJ leadership is considering expelling Sato from the party, instead of allowing her to leave, if she does not change her position, according to party executives.
To help prevent a recurrence of such action, the leadership deems it necessary to take strict measures against Sato should she continue to disregard their order, they said.
Kan has been struggling to avoid legislative gridlock and regain a firm grip on the DPJ after appearing to suggest the possibility of raising the current 5 percent consumption tax, which was blamed for the party's stinging defeat in the upper house election last July.
The DPJ-led coalition now only controls the more powerful lower house. But it lacks the two-thirds majority required to override upper house votes.
