Japan's Upper House Election Date Likely July 20; CDPJ Inclined to Forgo No-confidence Motion
Yomiuri Shimbun file photo
The Diet Building in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo
The government and ruling parties have decided to hold the House of Councillors election on July 20, with official campaigning to begin on July 3, sources said. The plan will be approved by the Cabinet soon.
The officials concluded that it will be unnecessary to extend the current Diet session, which is scheduled to end on June 22, even if the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan submits a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's Cabinet during session.
The Public Offices Election Law stipulates that the upper house election must be held within a 24-to-30-day period after the Diet session ends. If the current Diet session ends on June 22, the voting day will be finalized for July 20, which is a Sunday in the middle of a three-day weekend.
According to the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry, this will be the first time that a national election, excluding by-elections, will take place on the second day of a three-day weekend since 1952, when such record-keeping began.
The CDPJ chief Yoshihiko Noda is believed to be inclined to forgo the submission of the no-confidence motion. Many within the government and the ruling parties believe that the largest opposition is unlikely to submit it.
If the CDPJ does not submit the no-confidence motion, the Diet session is expected to end smoothly. If the motion is submitted, opposition parties might be able to pass it under the minority government. However, the ruling parties believe it is possible the motion would be unable to garner enough votes thanks to the Japan Innovation Party, with which the ruling parties continue to hold policy negotiations.
Noda met CDPJ Secretary General Junya Ogawa and other party executives on Friday night to discuss how to deal with a no-confidence motion. They agreed to make a final decision after carefully looking at the progress of the Japan-U.S. tariff negotiations, according to sources.
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