The No-Confidence Motion Against the Suga Cabinet Proposed by Four Japanese Opposition Parties Rejected

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghyun Choi] A no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga's cabinet, jointly proposed by four opposition parties in Japan on the 15th, was rejected.

The Japanese House of Representatives voted on the no-confidence motion submitted by four opposition parties: the Constitutional Democratic Party, the Japanese Communist Party, the Democratic Party for the People, and the Social Democratic Party, and the motion was rejected.

The ruling coalition parties, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and Komeito, opposed the motion. The Japan Innovation Party, holding 11 seats and following a similar line to the ruling parties on key issues such as constitutional revision, also sided against the motion.

In the current House of Representatives, out of a total of 465 seats, the LDP (277 seats) and Komeito (29 seats) hold a commanding majority with 306 seats.

Therefore, even if the opposition submits a no-confidence motion that requires a majority of attending members to pass, it is inevitably going to be dismissed.

Until now, Prime Minister Suga, who is also the president of the LDP, has expressed a stance that the no-confidence motions, which the opposition parties almost customarily submit near the end of the Diet session, serve as a legitimate reason for dissolving the House of Representatives, thus acting as a check. This had drawn attention to the possibility of an actual dissolution.

However, Prime Minister Suga decided not to respond to this no-confidence motion, which is a political signal calling for a snap election, with the card of dissolving the House of Representatives. This is interpreted as a focus on managing the COVID-19 situation and preparing for the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics scheduled for July to September this year.

Accordingly, unless unforeseen variables arise, the dissolution of the current House of Representatives, whose term ends on October 21, will effectively be postponed until after September this year.

Meanwhile, this is the first time in two years since June 2019, during the Shinzo Abe administration, that the opposition has submitted a no-confidence motion during a regular Diet session in Japan.