Japan’s lower house votes down no-confidence motion against Kishida Cabinet, Speaker Hosoda

The Yomiuri Shimbun

17:22 JST, June 9, 2022

The House of Representatives on Thursday voted down a pair of no-confidence motions submitted by the opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, one against the Cabinet of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and another against House Speaker Hiroyuki Hosoda.

The no-confidence motions were easily rejected by a majority vote, mainly along party lines, as the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner Komeito hold more than half the seats.

The CDPJ submitted the motions of no confidence on Wednesday, blaming the Kishida Cabinet for its “inaction” over the handling of rising prices.

“The Kishida Cabinet is not looking at the people,” CDPJ Diet Affairs Committee Chairman Sumio Mabuchi told reporters Thursday morning. “It’s no longer worthy of confidence in its management of the state.”

As for the no-confidence motion against Hosoda, the CPDJ said Hosoda’s words and deeds showed the LDP bigwig lacked the qualifications to be the lower house speaker.

Opposition parties were divided in their response to the no-confidence motions.

The Japanese Communist Party voted in favor of the two motions.

Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Innovation Party) and the Democratic Party for the People voted against the no-confidence motion against the Cabinet and walked out during a vote on the no-confidence motion against Hosoda.

Tsuyoshi Takagi, who chairs the LDP’s Diet Affairs Committee, told reporters before the vote on Thursday morning that the party would reject the two motions.

“The Kishida Cabinet has been appropriately taking measures to deal with soaring prices and managing the administration carefully,” Takagi said.

Kishida spoke to reporters at the Prime Minister’s Office before the vote, saying only that the no-confidence motions are matters that will be decided on by the Diet, without elaborating.