Pressure builds on Japan PM; calls to quit may grow

Pressure mounted on Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso on Thursday after ruling party lawmakers called for a meeting to debate the party's ailing fortunes at which his harshest critics are expected to seek his resignation.

Aso's plan for an election on August 30 -- announced just a day after the opposition Democrats trounced the conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in a Tokyo metropolitan vote -- has sparked chaos in the ruling party.

Surveys show the opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), whose platform includes pledges to break bureaucrats' grip on policy to cut waste and to pay more heed to the interests of consumers and workers than companies, will likely win the national election due by October.

A Democrat victory would end more than 50 years of almost unbroken rule by the business-friendly LDP and improve chances of resolving a policy deadlock caused by a divided parliament, where the opposition controls the upper house and can delay bills.

Hirohisa Fujii, a veteran Democratic lawmaker seen as likely to get a key post if the party wins, told Reuters that the party would reduce new debt issuance by cutting wasteful spending in an extra budget for the year to next March.

Despite efforts to rescue the economy from its worst recession in 60 years with massive stimulus packages, Aso has come under fire for a series of policy flip-flops.

Only 16.3 percent of respondents to a poll published by Jiji news agency on Thursday said they supported Aso and his cabinet, down 7.8 percentage points from a similar poll a month ago.

Asked which party they would vote for in the election, 37.4 percent opted for the Democrats and 19.5 percent for the LDP.

With LDP members panicking about a likely drubbing at the polls, a group of lawmakers petitioned for a meeting of parliamentarians to debate how to revive their fortunes.

Under party rules, the meeting must be held within seven days, although Aso could dissolve the lower house first.

Aso told reporters he would not "run away" if a meeting were held, but his top aide, Chief Cabinet Secretary Takeo Kawamura, said the premier would likely stick to his election plan.

LACK OF ALTERNATIVES

In a further sign of disarray, Finance Minister Kaoru Yosano -- widely seen as the architect of the Aso administration's economic policies -- and Agriculture Minister Shigeru Ishiba are among those who signed the petition.

Aso plans to dissolve the lower house early next week ahead of the election. He needs agreement from all cabinet members, but can fire them and go ahead with the plan if they refuse.

It was not clear how many of those who signed the petition want to ditch Aso. Kotaro Tamura, a upper house member, said he had signed the petition not because he wants to dump the premier, but because the party needs to compose a manifesto and distinguish themselves from the Democrats.

"We chose Aso as our leader and we all have a responsibility to support each other," Tamura said. "If we change the prime minister at this stage, the public wouldn't understand."

Aso has made it clear he has no intention of resigning, and a majority of lawmakers at the meeting would be needed to bring forward a vote for the party leadership set for September. Only a handful of lawmakers have openly called for Aso to resign.

Although there are potential alternatives within the party, including Health Minister Yoichi Masuzoe, analysts say a last-minute change of leadership ahead of the election would do little to boost the party's fortunes.

"Among those who signed the petition, there are some who want to change the party leader, while there are also opinions that we need to review the outcome of the Tokyo election," former prime minister Yoshiro Mori told a television program on Thursday. "Some also want to have a place to discuss the manifesto."

A bid by the LDP's top campaign strategist to have a popular comedian-turned-governor on the party's ticket came to an end on Thursday after the governor, Hideo Higashikokubaru, said he would not run for the LDP in the election.

Higashikokubaru's offer to run for the party only if he could be its next leader sparked anger from many within the LDP, and the desperate move to draft him was blamed by some as one reason for the bashing suffered in the Tokyo election.

(Published by Reuters - July 16, 2009)