Prime Minister Naoto Kan's announcement Monday that he would step down after the second extra budget and two key bills are passed may, at a glance, appear as though he finally clarified when he is leaving.
But it still remains to be seen whether his remark means the end of what critics call his "smokescreen tactic" to keep every key issue vague. In reality, the move means one thing — he is trying to stay in power for as long as possible, the critics say.
Kan took a new tack Monday by recruiting lawmaker Kazuyuki Hamada of the Liberal Democratic Party, the largest opposition force, into his administration. Hamada is a member of the Upper House and Kan is desperate to win over as many people as possible from the opposition camp in the divided Diet.