Japan PM losing upper house control, exit polls suggest Skip to main content

Japan PM losing upper house control, exit polls suggest

Election posters in Tokyo The vast national debt was one of the key election issues
The ruling DPJ party of PM Naoto Kan will lose control of the upper house of parliament after Sunday's election, exit polls suggest.

They suggested the DPJ would win just 47 of the contested seats, in an election seen as a referendum on its 10-month rule.
Mr Kan, who only became PM last month, has reportedly said he will not resign.
The DPJ went into the polls with a majority in both houses and will now need new allies.
Vulnerable A total of 121 seats, half of the upper house, were being contested in Sunday's election.

JAPAN'S UPPER HOUSE

  • Known as the House of Councillors
  • Has the power to block bills, except treaties and budgets
  • Vote often seen as a referendum on ruling party
  • 121 of 242 seats are being contested
  • Ruling DPJ currently has 54 seats
  • Main opposition party LDP has 38
  • Polls predict DPJ may lose seats
The DPJ held 62 seats not being contested and the projected 47 wins would leave it short of the 122 majority needed, public broadcaster NHK said.
The DPJ still has a majority in the more powerful lower house but its ability to govern effectively has been challenged.
The BBC's Roland Buerk in Tokyo says that what was at stake was whether the prime minister would be able to build a stable political base to tackle the massive national debt.
Our correspondent says Mr Kan must now look for allies among smaller parties and the result could leave the prime minister vulnerable to leadership challenges from within his own party.
The DPJ came to power last August, ending half a century of dominance by its main rivals, the conservative Liberal Democratic Party.
Mr Kan succeeded Yukio Hatoyama who resigned abruptly after only nine months in office amid funding scandals and a row over an American military base.
The election campaign was dominated by the prime minister's suggestion that Japan needed to discuss the possibility of an increase in sales tax - an issue that has divided voters, says our Tokyo correspondent.
Mr Kan said the country had to make sure it avoided financial collapse.
"Japan's economy is 20 to 30 times bigger than that of Greece and its public debt is huge, so no country in the world could rescue Japan," Mr Kan said on Friday.
Japan has been borrowing money for two decades, trying to bring its economy out of stagnation.

BBC
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Sri Bhaddanta Chandramani Mahathera

The Life Story of A Distinguished And Outstanding Bhikkhu The Most Venerable Saradawpharagree Sri Bhaddanta Chandramani Mahathera The Buddhist missionary Saradaw Ashin U Chandramani was endowed with great gifts and led a famous and long life. He was a very well known, distinguished and outstanding Bhikkhu Mahathera. While living in the Kushinagar Monastery, a place close to where the Lord Buddha had passed away to Nirvana, the Government of India had offered, and he had accepted, the highest, most honourable and respected title "Guru Guru MahaGuru". He became the first ever President of all Buddhists in India.A World Buddhist Conference took place in Kathmandu during the reign of King Mahindra of Nepal. The Conference was very well attended by over one hundred thousand Buddhists from various parts of the world and it was opened by King Mahindra himself. As requested by the King, Saradawpharagree blessed all the participants with the power of Triple Gems...
Post a Comment
Read more

Thai penis whitening trend raises eyebrows

Image copyright LELUXHOSPITAL Image caption Authorities warn the procedure could be quite painful A supposed trend of penis whitening has captivated Thailand in recent days and left it asking if the country's beauty industry is taking things too far. Skin whitening is nothing new in many Asian countries, where darker skin is often associated with outdoor labour, therefore, being poorer. But even so, when a clip of a clinic's latest intriguing procedure was posted online, it quickly went viral. Thailand's health ministry has since issued a warning over the procedure. The BBC Thai service spoke to one patient who had undergone the treatment, who told them: "I wanted to feel more confident in my swimming briefs". The 30-year-old said his first session of several was two months ago, and he had since seen a definite change in the shade. 'What for?' The original Facebook post from the clinic offering the treatment, which uses lasers to break do...
1 comment
Read more

Three Dead, Seven Injured by Artillery Shells in Two Incidents in Myanmar’s Mrauk-U

By MIN AUNG KHINE 2 December 2019 Sittwe, Rakhine State –Three Mrauk-U township residents died and four others were injured when an artillery shell struck their community in the Ale Zay quarter of Mrauk-U town on Monday afternoon after 4 p.m. A month-old girl, a 4-year-old boy and a 30-year-old woman died, according to Dr. Khin Maung Yin, the head of Mrauk-U hospital. He said, “A man and three other women were injured. One of the women sustained severe injures to her left leg and her right knee was dislocated. The injured will be operated on.” Details of what occurred were not yet known. A few hours earlier, three civilians were injured when an artillery shell fell on the village of Na Leik in Mrauk-U Township, Rakhine State, western Myanmar, on Monday at around 1 p.m., according to Yan Aung Pyin village-tract administrator U Sein Hla Aung. Two females, aged 13 and 27, and an 18-year-old male were injured in the incident, he said. Three people were hit by shrapnel and we have...
Post a Comment
Read more