Asia-Pacific

Japan PM to offer to resign in autumn or later

(Agencies)
Updated: 2011-06-02 11:48

POWER VACUUM?

Kan has declined to rule out a snap election, although  holding a poll would be tough given the devastation caused by the triple calamities in March.

Kan, already unpopular before the disasters struck, has come under fire for his handling of the world's worst nuclear crisis in 25 years.

But there is no obvious successor in his own party.

Leading the rebellion in the DPJ is party powerbroker Ichiro Ozawa, a political strategist and sometime reformer who is under indictment for suspected misreporting of political donations.

Media speculated that Ozawa and his backers would form a new party if the no-confidence motion is defeated.

Kan's predecessor, Yukio Hatoyama, also said he would back the motion although it was not clear how many in his intraparty group would follow suit.

Kan, seeking to prevent defections, said on Wednesday that a session of parliament set to end on June 22 could be extended, allowing time for a second extra budget to fund the next phase of rebuilding from the tsunami in what is set to be Japan's biggest reconstruction project since post-World War Two.

The government also needs to get parliament to enact a bill enabling the issuance of more bonds to finance 44 percent of the $1 trillion budget for the fiscal year already begun in April.  

It is also trying to finalise this month proposals for social security and tax reforms - including a likely doubling of the 5 percent sales tax in stages by 2015.

Moody's Investors Service said on Tuesday that Japan might not be able to avoid a downgrade of its sovereign debt rating even if it presented a strong reform plan, in part because of  concerns over political feuding.