Abe’s Remark Related to Foreign Workers Bill Provokes Backlash

December 6, 2018

Tokyo--Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's remark that jokingly labeled parliamentary questioning on a bill enabling the country to accept more foreign workers as "complicated questions" has provoked a backlash from opposition parties.

"It's an outrageous belittling of the Diet," Japan's parliament, Kiyomi Tsujimoto, Diet affairs chief of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, said Thursday.

She added, "The remark alone would lead to a no-confidence motion against the cabinet" of Abe.

"The prime minister is looking down on the Diet," said Kazuhiro Haraguchi, Diet affairs head of the opposition Democratic Party for the People. "I'm trembling with anger."

Abe made the remark in question at a gathering of business leaders on Wednesday.

After explaining that he returned from his trip to South America only on Tuesday, Abe drew laughter from the audience by saying, "Tomorrow, I'll face complicated questions (about the foreign workers bill) for two hours at the House of Councillors Judicial Affairs Committee, even though I still have bad jet lag." Jiji Press