Japan’s ruling party defeated a no-confidence motion yesterday against the prime minister’s Cabinet, but an increasingly bold opposition used the occasion to heap criticism on the government it aims to oust in national elections next month.
The powerful lower house of parliament, which is controlled by the long-ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner, easily voted down the motion, 333 to 139.
The Democratic Party of Japan and other opposing parties submitted the motion to create a forum to criticize Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso’s government, which is reeling from a ruling party loss this weekend in Tokyo municipal elections seen as a barometer of voter sentiment.
PHOTO: REUTERS
After the results were released Monday, Aso said he would dissolve parliament next week and call general elections for Aug. 30. The leader of the party that wins will almost certainly become Japan’s next prime minister.
A censure motion against Aso, with little purpose other than to embarrass him, passed the upper house later yesterday afternoon. The upper house, the weaker of the two, is under the control of the opposition.
In a raucous session by the lower house of parliament, Yukio Hatoyama, the leader of the opposing Democrats, gave a wide-ranging criticism of Japan’s current leadership.
“Prime Minister Aso has only clung to his post. The employment situation has worsened as he repeated pork-barrel handouts in obvious vote-buying, none of which has helped to improve the lives of the people,” Hatoyama said.
BOMBARDMENT: Moscow sent more than 440 drones and 32 missiles, Volodymyr Zelenskiy said, in ‘one of the most terrifying strikes’ on the capital in recent months A nighttime Russian missile and drone bombardment of Ukraine killed at least 15 people and injured 116 while they slept in their homes, local officials said yesterday, with the main barrage centering on the capital, Kyiv. Kyiv City Military Administration head Tymur Tkachenko said 14 people were killed and 99 were injured as explosions echoed across the city for hours during the night. The bombardment demolished a nine-story residential building, destroying dozens of apartments. Emergency workers were at the scene to rescue people from under the rubble. Russia flung more than 440 drones and 32 missiles at Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy
‘SHORTSIGHTED’: Using aid as leverage is punitive, would not be regarded well among Pacific Island nations and would further open the door for China, an academic said New Zealand has suspended millions of dollars in budget funding to the Cook Islands, it said yesterday, as the relationship between the two constitutionally linked countries continues to deteriorate amid the island group’s deepening ties with China. A spokesperson for New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters said in a statement that New Zealand early this month decided to suspend payment of NZ$18.2 million (US$11 million) in core sector support funding for this year and next year as it “relies on a high trust bilateral relationship.” New Zealand and Australia have become increasingly cautious about China’s growing presence in the Pacific
Indonesia’s Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki yesterday erupted again with giant ash and smoke plumes after forcing evacuations of villages and flight cancelations, including to and from the resort island of Bali. Several eruptions sent ash up to 5km into the sky on Tuesday evening to yesterday afternoon. An eruption on Tuesday afternoon sent thick, gray clouds 10km into the sky that expanded into a mushroom-shaped ash cloud visible as much as 150km kilometers away. The eruption alert was raised on Tuesday to the highest level and the danger zone where people are recommended to leave was expanded to 8km from the crater. Officers also
ESPIONAGE: The British government’s decision on the proposed embassy hinges on the security of underground data cables, a former diplomat has said A US intervention over China’s proposed new embassy in London has thrown a potential resolution “up in the air,” campaigners have said, amid concerns over the site’s proximity to a sensitive hub of critical communication cables. The furor over a new “super-embassy” on the edge of London’s financial district was reignited last week when the White House said it was “deeply concerned” over potential Chinese access to “the sensitive communications of one of our closest allies.” The Dutch parliament has also raised concerns about Beijing’s ideal location of Royal Mint Court, on the edge of the City of London, which has so
RSS