Japan starts countdown to PM Kan's departure

    Updated: 2011-08-10 13:57

    (Agencies)

      Comments() Print Mail Large Medium  Small 分享按鈕 0

    TOKYO - Japan's ruling Democratic Party aims to hold a leadership contest to replace unpopular Prime Minister Naoto Kan as early as August 28, Japanese media reported on Wednesday, setting the stage for the country's sixth premier since 2006.

    Kan, who took office in June 2010, is under fire for his handling of the country's nuclear crisis, and naming the date may be a sign that the party is putting more pressure on him to go.

    Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda, who favours paying for bulging social security costs by raising the 5 percent sales tax, and like Kan sees reining in ballooning public debt as policy priority, is mooted as a leading contender.

    With voter ratings well below 20 percent, Kan has said he will hand over the reins to his Democratic Party's younger generation. But he has not specified when, frustrating many in his party who hope changing leaders will help shore up the party's sagging popularity ratings.

    The Democrats swept to power in 2009 riding a wave of voter discontent and hunger for change after half a century of nearly uninterrupted rule by the Liberal Democratic Party. But they struggled to fulfil several campaign pledges including a promise to shore up the economy by supporting household spending, and halfway through their term they trail the opposition.

    Three conditions

    Kan has set three conditions for keeping his pledge to resign. One of those conditions, the enactment of an extra budget to help fund recovery from the massive March earthquake and tsunami, has already been met.

    A second condition - passing a bill allowing the government to borrow more to fund this year's $1 trillion budget - also looks likely to be met by the end of the month after the Democrats agreed on Tuesday to rethink key campaign spending pledges as demanded by opposition parties in return for passage of the legislation.

    The funding bill was expected to be approved by a committee in parliament's lower house on Wednesday, clearing the way for passage by the full chamber the following day and the upper house later this month, media said.

    Kan, who is advocating Japan wean itself from reliance on nuclear power, also wants parliament to pass a law promoting renewable sources of energy such as solar power before quitting.

    Some analysts have expressed hope that replacing Kan, whose policy flip-flops and abrasive personality have irked both ruling and opposition lawmakers, would allow smoother cooperation in Japan's divided parliament, where the opposition controls the upper house and can block legislation.

    Others are pessimistic about any breakthroughs as Japan struggles with debt, a fast-ageing population, rebuilding from the March disasters and drawing up a new energy policy in the wake of the nuclear crisis.

    Hot Topics

    The European Central Bank (ECB) held a conference call late on Sunday ahead of the market opening, pledging the ECB will step in to buy eurozone bonds with efforts to forestall the euro zone's debt crisis from spreading.

    精品久久久久久中文字幕| 人妻少妇偷人精品无码| 麻豆aⅴ精品无码一区二区| 久久久久久无码国产精品中文字幕| 国产成人AV一区二区三区无码| 免费无码又爽又刺激网站| 欧美日韩中文字幕2020| 中文字幕专区高清在线观看| 精品无码av一区二区三区 | 免费无码毛片一区二区APP| 久久av高潮av无码av喷吹| 色综合天天综合中文网| 黑人无码精品又粗又大又长| 中文字字幕在线中文无码| 欧美日韩中文字幕在线观看| 久久亚洲春色中文字幕久久久 | 潮喷失禁大喷水aⅴ无码| 无码中文字幕av免费放dvd| 日韩AV无码一区二区三区不卡毛片| 一本久中文视频播放| 人妻中文无码久热丝袜| 亚洲高清有码中文字| 无码毛片一区二区三区视频免费播放 | 久久亚洲AV无码精品色午夜| 免费在线中文日本| 人妻中文无码久热丝袜| 中文字幕国产精品| 亚洲av无码不卡私人影院| 国产激情无码一区二区| 精品国产v无码大片在线观看| 成人午夜精品无码区久久| 国产成人无码AV一区二区在线观看 | 久久久久av无码免费网| 无码人妻丰满熟妇区BBBBXXXX| 最近中文字幕免费mv在线视频| 亚洲欧美日韩中文字幕一区二区| 久久伊人中文无码| 亚洲欧美中文日韩V在线观看 | 久久AV高清无码| 国产精品午夜福利在线无码| 国产亚洲精品无码拍拍拍色欲 |