Prime Minister Naoto Kan on Monday left open the possibility of a grand coalition with the opposition Liberal Democratic Party, although he added that the idea won't easily be accepted without good reason.
"I'm not saying a grand coalition is absolutely out of the question," Kan said in a news conference. "But without a good cause, such as revising the Constitution, I don't think it would gain public understanding."
A more realistic approach for Kan would be to get the Social Democratic Party to support government-sponsored bills, including the fiscal 2011 budget, so that the Democratic Party of Japan, Kokumin Shinto (People's New Party) and the SDP can override the Upper House with a two-thirds majority.