Japanese Cabinet of Premier Kishida survives no-confidence

June 16, 2023

Ruling coalition of Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito, with majority in 465-seat house, rejects motion and accuses opposition of delaying deliberations in national legislature

By Islamuddin Sajid

ANKARA (AA) – The Japanese Cabinet of Prime Minister Kishida Fumio on Friday survived a no-confidence motion submitted by the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party over charges of government defense spending and failure to control rising prices.

However, the ruling coalition of Kishida's Liberal Democratic Party and the Komeito party, which holds a majority in the 465-seat House of Representatives or locally known as Diet, rejected the motion, calling it an annual attempt by the opposition to delay deliberations in the national legislature, state broadcaster NHK reported.

Earlier this week, Kishida said he will decide when to dissolve the lower house after assessing "various circumstances," a reversal of his previous stance that he was "not considering" an early election.

Parliament's current session will end next Wednesday.

His policies resulted in a 26.3% increase in defense spending to a record 6.82 trillion yen (approximately $51.7 billion) for the fiscal year beginning April 1.

Japan expects defense spending to increase to 43 trillion yen (about $310 billion) over the next five years.

The current four-year term for the lower house ends in October 2025. However, the premier has the authority to dissolve the lower house under the Japanese Constitution.