No-confidence motion may trigger snap election: Suga

May 17, 2019

Tokyo--Prime Minister Shinzo Abe might call a snap election for the House of Representatives, the powerful lower chamber of Japan's parliament, if opposition parties submit a no-confidence motion against his cabinet,

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga suggested on Friday.

Asked whether the submission of a no-confidence motion would be a fair reason for dissolving the Lower House, Suga told a press conference, "That would certainly be the case."

It is unusual for anyone in the post of chief cabinet secretary, the government's top spokesman, to mention the possibility of a Lower House breakup for a snap election, as dissolving the chamber is considered to be an exclusive matter for the prime minister.

The suggestion by Suga came as opposition parties are carefully considering the timing for submitting a no-confidence motion against the Abe cabinet ahead of a triennial election for the House of Councillors, the upper chamber, this summer.

Meanwhile, there is lingering speculation that Abe could go for a double election for both parliamentary chambers to seek public support for his possible decision to postpone for a third time a consumption tax hike from 8 pct to 10 pct, currently planned for October. Jiji Press