The Liberal Democratic Party, New Komeito and Tachiagare Nippon (Sunrise Party of Japan) submitted a binding no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Naoto Kan on Wednesday evening, shaking the administration to the core as discontented members of the Democratic Party of Japan, including Cabinet appointees, threatened to support it.
The move once again underlined the feud between Kan and archrival Ichiro Ozawa, the DPJ heavyweight under indictment for funds misdeeds who has held a grudge against Kan since they faced off in the September DPJ presidential poll. Ozawa is believed poised to launch a new party.
Ozawa has said he may side with the opposition force.