Asia-Pacific

Japan PM spurns away snap election plan

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-06-17 10:51

Japan's new Prime Minister Naoto Kan returns to his seat after delivering his keynote speech at the lower house of parliament in Tokyo June 11, 2010. [Agencies]

TOKYO - Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan said Wednesday he does not intend to dissolve the lower house for a snap election.

Kan made the remarks at a press conference in response to a question as to the likelihood of calling the House of Representatives election in the near future.

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"That's the furthest thing from my mind," said Kan, dismissing calls from the opposition camp for a snap election of the lower house.

Kan and his Cabinet members decided to have an upper house on July 11 before meeting the press.

Earlier in the day the lower house voted down a no-confidence motion against Kan's cabinet at a plenary session.

The motion, filed by the main opposition Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), aimed to build up pressure on Kan's ruling coalition ahead of a upper house election but was turned down as widely expected in the ruling Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ)-dominated lower house.

The public support rate for Kan's Cabinet rose 3.3 percentage points to 64.8 percent at the weekend, according to a survey released by the Kyodo News agency Monday.

On June 8, Kan officially launched his new cabinet four days after being elected as Japan's 94th prime minister to succeed his predecessor Yukio Hatoyama.