ID :
165862
Fri, 03/04/2011 - 14:41
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https://www.oananews.org//node/165862
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Kan's embattled gov't hit by donation scandals involving ministers
TOKYO, March 4 Kyodo - Embattled Prime Minister Naoto Kan faced a new headache Friday after two of his ministers admitted to receiving dubious donations, at a time when the premier is trying to secure approval of fiscal 2011 budget-related bills in a divided parliament.
During a session of the House of Councillors Budget Committee, Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara said he had received a donation from a foreign national, leading Shoji Nishida, a lawmaker of the main opposition Liberal Democratic Party, to slam him for violating the law banning donations from foreigners and urge Kan to remove Maehara from his post.
Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda also said during the upper house panel session that he had received a total of 800,000 yen in donations from companies with links to a corporate manager who was indicted for tax evasion, adding that he had returned the money.
Kan backed Maehara's stance of first examining the matter and getting a full grasp of the situation.
The latest political funding issues are likely to provide fresh ammunition for the opposition parties to attack the Kan administration, which is already facing criticism over a money scandal linked to former Democratic Party of Japan leader Ichiro Ozawa, low public support ratings and an intraparty rift.
Deliberations on the record 92.42 trillion yen budget for fiscal 2011 starting April kicked off at the panel.
Ichita Yamamoto, another LDP lawmaker, questioned Kan's ''flawed'' leadership and his lack of a grasp on government and the ruling party, referring to 16 DPJ lawmakers' recent move to leave the party's parliamentary group and an another lawmaker's attempt to quit the DPJ.
Kan, who doubles as DPJ president, retorted that his government and party are generally doing well, and urged the upper house to pass the budget.
''I believe that a great majority of the public first wish to see thorough discussions on the budget, have it enacted and implemented,'' Kan said in the session, renewing his appeal to the opposition camp, which controls the upper house, to ''enact the budget without further delay.''
The House of Representatives, controlled by the ruling coalition, approved the budget Tuesday, paving the way for its enactment by March 31, but the prospects for securing passage of the bills needed to fully implement the budget remain bleak due to objections from the opposition parties.
The DPJ initially planned to convene the upper house's budget panel session on Thursday, but the schedule was delayed because the ruling and opposition camps disagreed over the format of the debate.
The Constitution states that the annual budget will be enacted within 30 days of being sent to the House of Councillors after securing the approval of the more powerful lower house, even if the upper house rejects it or does not hold a vote on it.
During a session of the House of Councillors Budget Committee, Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara said he had received a donation from a foreign national, leading Shoji Nishida, a lawmaker of the main opposition Liberal Democratic Party, to slam him for violating the law banning donations from foreigners and urge Kan to remove Maehara from his post.
Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda also said during the upper house panel session that he had received a total of 800,000 yen in donations from companies with links to a corporate manager who was indicted for tax evasion, adding that he had returned the money.
Kan backed Maehara's stance of first examining the matter and getting a full grasp of the situation.
The latest political funding issues are likely to provide fresh ammunition for the opposition parties to attack the Kan administration, which is already facing criticism over a money scandal linked to former Democratic Party of Japan leader Ichiro Ozawa, low public support ratings and an intraparty rift.
Deliberations on the record 92.42 trillion yen budget for fiscal 2011 starting April kicked off at the panel.
Ichita Yamamoto, another LDP lawmaker, questioned Kan's ''flawed'' leadership and his lack of a grasp on government and the ruling party, referring to 16 DPJ lawmakers' recent move to leave the party's parliamentary group and an another lawmaker's attempt to quit the DPJ.
Kan, who doubles as DPJ president, retorted that his government and party are generally doing well, and urged the upper house to pass the budget.
''I believe that a great majority of the public first wish to see thorough discussions on the budget, have it enacted and implemented,'' Kan said in the session, renewing his appeal to the opposition camp, which controls the upper house, to ''enact the budget without further delay.''
The House of Representatives, controlled by the ruling coalition, approved the budget Tuesday, paving the way for its enactment by March 31, but the prospects for securing passage of the bills needed to fully implement the budget remain bleak due to objections from the opposition parties.
The DPJ initially planned to convene the upper house's budget panel session on Thursday, but the schedule was delayed because the ruling and opposition camps disagreed over the format of the debate.
The Constitution states that the annual budget will be enacted within 30 days of being sent to the House of Councillors after securing the approval of the more powerful lower house, even if the upper house rejects it or does not hold a vote on it.
