On the eve of the end of the current Diet session, the House of Representatives on Tuesday voted down the first no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's Cabinet.
The motion, submitted by opposition parties to Lower House Speaker Tamisuke Watanuki in the early afternoon, was rejected by a vote of 280 to 185. The Liberal Democratic Party, New Komeito and the New Conservative Party hold the majority in the Lower House.
It was the first time the Koizumi government faced a no-confidence motion since its inauguration in April 2001.
"Although the rapid increases in corporate bankruptcies, unemployment and the suicide rate have become grave social issues in Japan, the Koizumi Cabinet has failed to take effective measures since taking office," the motion said. "The public is deeply disappointed that Koizumi's 'reform' is mere grandstanding that pushes only pain onto the public. We demand the resignation of the Koizumi Cabinet as soon as possible."
The opposition also criticized Koizumi for lacking the leadership to stamp out political corruption.
Later in the day, the opposition parties in the House of Councilors submitted a nonbinding censure motion against Koizumi and a no-confidence motion against Upper House President Hiroyuki Kurata for allowing a plenary session to vote on medical reform bills despite their absence. These will be put to a vote Wednesday.
After the ruling bloc voted down the no-confidence motion, Yukio Hatoyama, head of the Democratic Party of Japan, expressed concern that Koizumi may interpret the result as Diet approval for his policies, which Hatoyama claimed are a set of "political performances."
"I wonder if Koizumi really understands the hardships people are going through?" Hatoyama asked reporters. "Despite his performance, in reality no progress is being made. I fear Koizumi may continue to damage people's lives with his policies."