Japan PM unlikely to dissolve lower house absent no-confidence motion
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is unlikely to dissolve the House of Representatives for a snap election unless a no-confidence motion is submitted against his Cabinet, sources close to him said Thursday.
The move would rule out the possibility of elections for both chambers of parliament taking place on the same day, as the House of Councillors vote is expected to be held this summer after the current 150-day regular session is slated to end on June 22.
Ishiba is eager to avoid creating a political vacuum amid uncertainty over ongoing tariff talks with the United States, the sources said, as partisan maneuvering intensifies between the ruling and opposition camps at home.
The Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan is perceived as increasingly reluctant to submit a no-confidence motion, even though its leader Yoshihiko Noda remains noncommittal, saying he will make an "appropriate decision at the right time."
The ruling coalition led by Ishiba's Liberal Democratic Party does not hold a majority in the lower house. A no-confidence motion, if passed, would require the prime minister to dissolve the 465-member chamber or the Cabinet to resign en masse within 10 days.
The CDPJ is the only opposition force that can submit a motion on its own. For it to pass, however, the main opposition party would need support from others. Japan is set to hold an election next month to replace half of the 248-member upper house.
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