The Upper House passed nonbinding censure motions Friday against Defense Minister Naoki Tanaka and Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Minister Takeshi Maeda, delivering a double blow to Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's administration.

The motions were submitted Wednesday by the Liberal Democratic Party and two smaller opposition parties, Your Party and Shinto Kaikaku (New Renaissance Party), over Tanaka's inexperience on defense matters that the opposition alleges disqualifies him from holding his post, and Maeda's alleged violation of the Public Offices Election Law.

The move backs Noda into a corner as he strives to start deliberations April 24 on his pet bill to double the 5 percent consumption tax rate by 2015, to cover snowballing social security costs. Though censure motions are not legally binding, the LDP says it will boycott Diet deliberations as long as the two ministers remain in Noda's Cabinet. The opposition's cooperation is critical for the DPJ to pass tax hike legislation, because it lacks a majority in the Upper House.