Opposition parties pressed Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda again Thursday to immediately dissolve the Lower House for a snap election, but he snubbed their demands, saying he will do so based on his own judgement.
"It is common sense that when (Noda) says he is dissolving the Lower House soon, it means he will do so at least by the end of the year," New Komeito Secretary General Yoshihisa Inoue said on the second day of the televised Lower House plenary session.
In August, when the Liberal Democratic Party and New Komeito agreed with the ruling Democratic Party of Japan, which Noda heads, to cooperate on his social security and tax reforms, he promised their leaders he would dissolve the Lower House "soon."