The ruling Democratic Party of Japan used its numeric advantage to pass two key bills through the Lower House on Tuesday amid a vote boycott by the main opposition parties, which plan to block passage of the legislation through the Sept. 8 end of the Diet session.
One bill would allow the government to issue deficit-covering bonds, while the other would partially rectify the vote-value disparity in general elections. Both are expected to stall in the Upper House, where the opposition camp, led by the Liberal Democratic Party, instead submitted a nonbinding censure motion Tuesday evening against Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda. The Upper House is to vote on the motion on Wednesday.
The DPJ, which Noda heads, pushed the passage of the special bond bill through the Lower House ahead of the Diet session deadline. The LDP, the main opposition force, boycotted the vote.