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Fukuda rules out early Cabinet reshuffle, election before fall

Other News Materials 30 March 2008 06:14 (UTC +04:00)

Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda on Saturday ruled out an early Cabinet reshuffle and indicated that he has no plans to dissolve the House of Representatives for an election before this autumn. ( Kyodo )

Asked about the provisionally raised gasoline and other road-related tax rates, Fukuda insisted in an interview with a group of reporters that ''the current level of rates should be maintained at least,'' especially from the viewpoint of restricting greenhouse gas emissions.

Amid resistance by the opposition parties, Fukuda is facing increasing difficulty in seeking passage by the current March 31 expiration of a tax code bill that aims to maintain the raised tax rates. Such a failure will lead gasoline prices to fall by about 25 yen per liter.

''I would like to consider if lowering gasoline prices is an issue Japan can proudly mention to the leaders of Western countries at the Toyako summit,'' Fukuda said, referring to the Group of Eight summit to be hosted by Japan in July at the Lake Toya hot spring resort area in Hokkaido.

On the possibility of reshuffling the Cabinet following the parliamentary approval Friday of the state budget for fiscal 2008, Fukuda said, ''Now we are in the middle of the Diet session and the important bill related to the tax law has not yet passed. In this situation, I cannot think about a reshuffle at all.''

Fukuda also said he ''wondered whether it would be acceptable'' to do such a thing as dissolving the lower house when the Japanese economy is in a temporary lull and concerns are lingering over the world economy.

''I think I need to show a solid blueprint or a direction toward the future so that people can feel secure. And one of them is social security,'' Fukuda said.

His remarks suggested that he will not dissolve the lower house before the fall when a government panel on pension and other social security reforms is expected to compile a final report.

Some ruling party members say that the prime minister, who is facing sagging support rates, should not dissolve the lower house until September next year when the current term of the lower house ends.

On the rioting in Tibet that has resulted in numerous fatalities, Fukuda called for an early settlement through dialogue between the concerned parties, but was cautious about connecting the issue with whether or not he would attend the Olympic opening ceremony in Beijing this summer.

''Whether it is appropriate at this stage to loudly criticize ( China) and relate the matter to the Olympic Games - I think this is an issue we have to think about carefully,'' Fukuda said.

Talk of a boycott of the opening ceremony has emerged from various countries after the rioting erupted in Tibet earlier this month.

Six months have passed since Fukuda took office and launched his Cabinet in September and he is struggling amid the ongoing current political stalemate in the Diet, where the opposition parties control the House of Councillors.

The latest clash between the ruling and opposition parties has centered on the tax bill.

The main opposition Democratic Party of Japan has criticized the earmarking of road-related tax revenues for road construction as wasteful spending for vested interests and has called for the immediate abolition of the provisionally raised portion of the taxes.

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