Struggling Japan PM says no snap elections now

by Shingo Ito
Mon Oct 6, 4:20 AM ET



TOKYO (AFP) - Japan's new Prime Minister Taro Aso on Monday brushed aside talk of calling a snap election, vowing instead to concentrate on revitalising the ailing economy as he struggles to win over voters.

Speaking in parliament just two weeks after taking office, Aso indicated he was not minded to put his government to the test just yet, amid poll ratings which have disappointed ruling party leaders.

"Our priority is to let the supplementary budget pass. Therefore, I don't have dissolution (of parliament) in mind at this stage," Aso said.

"I presume that what people are most concerned about right now are the prospects for the economy," he said.

Aso was speaking to a parliamentary committee which is looking at an extra 1.81 trillion yen (17 billion dollar) budget that he has proposed to help the world's second largest economy cope with rising prices.

He is also looking at additional funding to help stimulate Japan's economy, which is teetering on recession as the global financial crisis saps foreign demand for its exports.



The former foreign minister took over as premier on September 24 from Yasuo Fukuda, who resigned amid sagging popularity after raising medical costs for elderly people to ease the budget burden.

But Aso's initial poll ratings disappointed strategists in his conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) who hoped he could call an election quickly to contain a rising opposition, which controls one house of parliament.

The latest opinion poll by the Asahi Shimbun showed public support for the Aso cabinet has slid even further, falling to 41 percent now from 48 percent immediately after he took office.

Ominously for Aso, 40 percent of voters said they preferred a government led by the opposition Democratic Party of Japan against 34 percent who favoured the LDP, which has been in power for all but 10 months since 1955.

The liberal newspaper surveyed 1,036 eligible voters on Saturday and Sunday.

"Let's say a doctor comes to a person whose heart isn't beating well and proposes to improve his health. That won't mean anything if his heart stops," Aso explained.

"We have to do a lot of things such as cardiac massage or drip infusion," he added. "The economy is in a considerably severe situation. If we fail to take action right now, something terrible may happen."

Akira Nagatsuma, a senior opposition lawmaker who has aggressively pushed the government on social issues, went on the offensive in parliament, accusing welfare ministry officials of deliberately falsifying information about pension payments to cut costs -- a potentially criminal offence.

"If we take over, we will put an end to such cold governance," Nagatsuma said.

Elections to the lower house of parliament must be held by September next year but the opposition has stepped up demands for an early vote.

Aso has broken ranks with recent LDP premiers such as Junichiro Koizumi by supporting government spending to boost the economy, downplaying free-market reforms that the opposition charges has widened the gap between rich and poor.

A separate survey by the Nikkei business daily found 69 percent of Japan's major companies agreed that Aso's priority should be economic stimulus rather than cutting the national debt, which is the worst among rich nations.

In the parliament session, Aso also pressed for a renewal of a naval mission in the Indian Ocean providing fuel and other logistical support to the US-led "war on terror" in Afghanistan.

"Using common sense, it's impossible for me to fathom that Japan alone would withdraw in the middle of the fight against terrorism in Afghanistan," Aso said.

The opposition forced a temporary halt to the operation last year, arguing that Japan -- officially pacifist since World War II -- should not take part in "American wars."