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On June 26, on the final day of the Diet session, DPJ President Banri Kaieda and Secretary General Goshi Hosono held a special joint press conference regarding the series of events in the House of Councillors, where the submission of a no-confidence motion against President of the House Hirata and Prime Minister Abe ended up causing several pieces of legislation which would have passed the Diet under normal circumstances to be scrapped.
Hosono stated, “The no-confidence motion against the Prime Minister will be processed following the one against the President of the House, so as a result it will be difficult to enact the remaining pieces of legislation in the House of Councillors. These are legislative measures that are important for the lives of the Japanese people and the DPJ has been of the opinion that they should be enacted. That is why the DPJ did not join [other opposition parties] in submitting the motion of no-confidence against the Prime Minister. We also argued in the House Committee on Rules and Administration that these pieces of legislation should be dealt with prior to the motion of no-confidence against the Prime Minister, but our argument did not pass.”
Kaieda protested the LDP’s response to the issue, saying, “Their actions all boil down to their desire to claim that “the opposition parties caused the legislation to be scrapped” in the House of Councillors, and make me feel extremely angry and indignant.” Hosono went on to add, “If the timing of the no-confidence motion had been changed, then it would have been possible to enact the legislation, but the LDP did not make any effort of this kind. We called for a meeting of secretaries-general, but our request was refused. Their action is an inexcusable one which puts elections and politicking ahead of the livelihoods of the Japanese people.”
Regarding the no-confidence motion against the Prime Minister submitted by three other opposition parties, Kaieda stated, “The fact that the government side did not attend the budget committee in the House of Councillors after a session had been convened by the committee Chair following the appropriate procedures is an infringement of Article 63 of the constitution, and as such unforgivable.”
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