Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi does not believe the Liberal Party will withdraw from the coalition government, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiromu Nonaka said Monday.
Nonaka was responding to remarks made Sunday by former Liberal Democratic Party policy chief Taku Yamasaki that the prime minister will have to either dissolve the Lower House and call a snap election or have his entire Cabinet resign if the Liberal Party, headed by Ichiro Ozawa, quits the coalition.
Because the LDP is trying to woo New Komeito into the ruling bloc, Ozawa is strongly pressuring the LDP to follow through on agreements reached between the two parties prior to the launch of the current LDP-Liberal coalition government in January.
The agreements include the reduction of 50 proportional-representation seats in the Lower House and cooperating in the next Lower House elections, which must be held before October 2000.
Nonaka told reporters that they have been making sincere efforts to achieve the agreements between the two parties, and that the LDP does not plan to neglect the current alliance with the Liberal Party even if New Komeito participates in the coalition government.
"The three parties must work hard to make the coalition much stronger and more transparent," Nonaka said. "And it is inconceivable for us to consider what Mr. Yamasaki has said."