The new bank recapitalization bill designed to keep capital-short banks afloat cleared the Lower House Tuesday and was immediately sent to the Upper House, which is expected to enact the measure Friday.
The bill, drafted by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and revised based on proposals from elements of the opposition camp, cleared a Lower House special committee on financial stabilization and then the chamber's plenary session with support from the LDP, the Liberal Party, the Heiwa-Kaikaku parliamentary group and the Social Democratic Party.
The largest opposition party, the Democratic Party of Japan, and the Japanese Communist Party voted against the bill. The DPJ submitted its own bill to the Diet, but it was voted down. The DPJ criticized the LDP-drafted bill, saying the scheme would allow the survival of insolvent banks by using taxpayers' money.