ID :
76995
Wed, 08/26/2009 - 14:01
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/76995
The shortlink copeid
Uncertainty Lingers over DPJ's Coalition Plan
Tokyo, Aug. 25 (Jiji Press)--Uncertainty still lingers over the main opposition Democratic Party of Japan's plan to form a coalition government with two smaller parties if it seizes power following the House of Representatives election on Sunday.
The DPJ, which is now seen to achieve a landslide victory in the
Lower House election over the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, hopes to join
hands with the Social Democratic Party and the People's New Party because
the DPJ alone is short of a majority in the House of Councillors, the upper
chamber.
"We aim to form a coalition," DPJ Secretary-General Katsuya Okada
said in talks with reporters in Yao, Osaka Prefecture, western Japan, on
Tuesday. "There is no change in the policy."
SDP leader Mizuho Fukushima, who had been cautious about teaming up
with the DPJ, now appears ready to join a DPJ-led coalition.
In the ongoing election campaigns, the SDP's presence has been
declining as the DPJ is seen to win big in the general election and the
Japanese Communist Party is distinguishing itself from other parties by
claiming that it will become a "constructive" opposition party.
Fukushima now believes that her party should join a DPJ-led
coalition in order to regain its lost ground, a source close to her said.
Still, the SDP may face difficulties forming a consensus among
party officials across Japan over its envisaged coalition plan because the
party still has been haunted by a bitter experience, sources said, noting
that the SDP lost its presence after forming a three-way ruling coalition
with the LDP and the New Party Sakigake in the 1990s.
Fukushima plans to make a final decision on whether to join a
DPJ-led coalition at a meeting of representatives from the SDP's local
branches, which will be held after the general election.
At the People's New Party, meanwhile, executives are sharply
divided. No. 2 leader Shizuka Kamei favors an alliance with the DPJ, but its
head, Tamisuke Watanuki, says he has no intention to join hands with the
DPJ.
Sources said that the party may be broken up after the general
election.
END
The DPJ, which is now seen to achieve a landslide victory in the
Lower House election over the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, hopes to join
hands with the Social Democratic Party and the People's New Party because
the DPJ alone is short of a majority in the House of Councillors, the upper
chamber.
"We aim to form a coalition," DPJ Secretary-General Katsuya Okada
said in talks with reporters in Yao, Osaka Prefecture, western Japan, on
Tuesday. "There is no change in the policy."
SDP leader Mizuho Fukushima, who had been cautious about teaming up
with the DPJ, now appears ready to join a DPJ-led coalition.
In the ongoing election campaigns, the SDP's presence has been
declining as the DPJ is seen to win big in the general election and the
Japanese Communist Party is distinguishing itself from other parties by
claiming that it will become a "constructive" opposition party.
Fukushima now believes that her party should join a DPJ-led
coalition in order to regain its lost ground, a source close to her said.
Still, the SDP may face difficulties forming a consensus among
party officials across Japan over its envisaged coalition plan because the
party still has been haunted by a bitter experience, sources said, noting
that the SDP lost its presence after forming a three-way ruling coalition
with the LDP and the New Party Sakigake in the 1990s.
Fukushima plans to make a final decision on whether to join a
DPJ-led coalition at a meeting of representatives from the SDP's local
branches, which will be held after the general election.
At the People's New Party, meanwhile, executives are sharply
divided. No. 2 leader Shizuka Kamei favors an alliance with the DPJ, but its
head, Tamisuke Watanuki, says he has no intention to join hands with the
DPJ.
Sources said that the party may be broken up after the general
election.
END
