On March 5, the Lower House voted down an opposition-sponsored no-confidence motion against the Cabinet of Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori. Theoretically, the apparent vote of confidence for the Mori Cabinet should have restored a semblance of political stability, but things do not work that way in Japanese politics. Mori and the ruling Liberal Democratic Party will face a critical situation in March or April.
Out of a total 466 lawmakers present, 192 voted for the motion and 274 against. Legislators of the opposition Democratic Party of Japan, Liberal Party, Japan Communist Party and Social Democratic Party, as well as two independents, backed the motion. Members of the three-party ruling coalition -- the LDP, New Komeito and the New Conservative Party -- and seven other legislators rejected it.
Of the 14 other members of the 480-seat chamber, seven boycotted the vote, four abstained, and two failed to attend for health reasons. Lower House Speaker Tamisuke Watanuki did not vote.