In a stark reflection of Japan's political stalemate, parliament's lower house approved a motion of confidence in Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda on Thursday, a day after the upper chamber adopted an unprecedented, but non-binding, censure of the unpopular leader.
The opposition Democratic Party and smaller allies pushed through the upper house censure motion on Wednesday, the first against a prime minister under the current 1947 constitution, in an effort to build momentum for an early lower house election.
But Fukuda has said he had no plan to call a poll for the powerful lower chamber within the year. And while his weekly email magazine made no direct mention of the censure, the opening greeting on Thursday was "Never give up".
"The Fukuda Cabinet has been working with all its strength to stabilise citizens' lives, to realise national interests and to contribute to the international community," ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) policy chief Sadakazu Tanigaki told the lower house. Most opposition lawmakers boycotted the session.
Political analysts said Fukuda was unlikely to resign or call a snap election before hosting a July 7-9 Group of Eight summit in northern Japan, but speculation persists that his party might replace him after that with a potentially more popular rival. An election is unlikely because the ruling bloc is reluctant to risk losing its two-thirds majority in the lower house, which allows it to override the opposition-controlled upper house in most matters.
Prospects the political stalemate would drag on are beginning to weigh on some Tokyo stock market players' minds. Ruling and opposition camps will be vying for public support over the next month as Fukuda seeks to bolster support levels that had fallen below 20 percent in some polls with a display of diplomacy before and during the G8 summit, while opposition parties remind voters of his shortcomings.
Opposition lawmakers on Thursday kept up calls for an early poll, a stance echoed by some mainstream media, although the opposition came in for its share of the blame for the stalemate.
Japan has had two prime ministers since the ruling bloc, led by charismatic leader Junichiro Koizumi, won a huge victory in the last lower house election in 2005. The opposition took control of the upper house last July. "Calls for an election after the G8 summit are growing stronger as seen in recent public opinion surveys," the Nikkei business daily said in an editorial.