Japanese opposition initiates vote of no confidence against Suga’s cabinet

Four Japanese opposition parties, including the Constitutional Democratic Party, initiated a vote of no confidence against the government of Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, Kyodo reported Tuesday.

The opposition blamed the cabinet for the failure of the coronavirus containment policy. It also demands to extend the current parliamentary session of three months in order to discuss and adopt new measures to combat the pandemic. The ongoing session is supposed to end on June 16.

Meanwhile, the ruling Liberal-Democratic Party and its coalition partner, the Komeito, who enjoy the majority in both chambers of the parliament, are expected to reject the draft resolution of no confidence.

The opposition’s maneuvers are connected to the upcoming parliamentary elections. According to the Japanese law, the elections must take place before the second half of October this year, but the Prime Minister can authorize snap elections at any moment. The support of the cabinet plunged dramatically due to the population’s frustration over the coronavirus situation. Japan significantly lags behind other G7 countries in terms of vaccination rate.