Jun 26 (Japan Today) - A no-confidence motion against the cabinet of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was voted down Tuesday in the lower house, with the ruling bloc fending off opposition camp criticism about the government's handling of a pension report before an upper house election.
Opposition parties have launched a last-ditch offensive before the regular Diet session ends Wednesday, taking aim at what they say is the Abe administration's failure to address public concerns about the sustainability of the nation's pension system.
The motion, submitted earlier in the day, condemned the cabinet for acting "irresponsibly and extremely dishonestly over issues that directly affect people's lives," such as the pension report and the planned consumption tax hike in October.
The opposition forces that submitted the motion include the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, the Democratic Party for the People, the Japanese Communist Party and the Social Democratic Party. The ruling coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito control the House of Representatives.
The recent furor came after Finance Minister Taro Aso refused to receive the report by a panel of experts under the Financial Services Agency he oversees, which contained an estimate that an average retired couple would face a shortfall of 20 million yen under the current pension system if they live to be 95 years old.
Aso has insisted that the reason he decided not to receive the report was that it contradicted the government stance. But opposition party members dismissed that by saying the government is seeking to put a lid on inconvenient truths, with the House of Councillors election expected to take place in July.
