A no-confidence motion against the Cabinet of Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori was expected to be voted down early this morning in the Lower House after Koichi Kato, the leader of a rebel faction in the ruling party, decided to abstain at the last minute.
Kato said he was not sure he could secure enough votes from his supporters in the Liberal Democratic Party to back the opposition-sponsored motion.
His late flip-flop came to the relief of the mainstream LDP factions as it averted what appeared to be an imminent breakup of the party.