The Democratic Party of Japan's executive council said Tuesday it will suspend the party membership of the leader of 16 DPJ rebels who refused to attend a Lower House plenary vote on the fiscal 2011 budget, which cleared the chamber anyway in a session the opposition camp prolonged into the early morning hours.
The DPJ Standing Officers Council wants Koichiro Watanabe's membership put on hold for six months while only warning his 15 cohorts, apparently fearing a backlash at a time when the votes of all members will be needed, plus more, to get the budget-related bills through the divided Diet.
The rebellion by the 16 junior members, all allies of indicted DPJ kingpin Ichiro Ozawa, has put more pressure on Prime Minister Naoto Kan to make every effort to gain the support of the opposition camp in passing the budget-related bills, even if he has to promise to dissolve the Lower House and call a snap election.