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Japanese Opposition Parties Submit Censure Motion Against Mori
Japan's three main opposition parties submitted Tuesday a nonbinding censure motion against Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori to the upper chamber over his remark that Japan is a divine country with the emperor at its center.
The parties said in their bill to the House of Councilors that Mori's remark ran counter to Japan's constitution, which stipulates that sovereignty resides with the people. They added that Mori lacks the qualifications necessary to be a prime minister.
The three parties are the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), the Japanese Communist Party (JCP) and the Social Democratic Party (SDP).
The Liberal Party (LP) did not join in submitting the motion, but LP members said they would support it.
The motion is expected to be killed at a plenary session Wednesday by the ruling coalition, which enjoys a majority in both houses of the Diet (parliament).
Once the censure motion is rejected in the upper chamber, the four opposition parties plan to submit a no-confidence motion against Mori's cabinet to the House of Representatives, or low house.
At a meeting of lawmakers linked to Japan's Shinto religion on May 15, Mori said, "Japan is a divine country with the emperor at its center. We have been working for 30 years to have people firmly acknowledge that."
Mori apologized at a news conference last Friday for his remark having caused misunderstanding, but he refused to retract the statement.
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