Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga attends a cabinet meeting at his official residence in Tokyo, Japan April 13, 2021, in this photo taken by Kyodo. Kyodo/via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT. JAPAN OUT. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN JAPAN
On Tuesday, Japan’s Lower House of Parliament rejected a no-confidence resolution submitted by opposition parties angry at Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga’s refusal to extend the current parliamentary session.
The parties had requested a three-month extension of the session, which was set to finish on Wednesday, in order to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic as Japan rushes to increase vaccinations ahead of the Tokyo Olympics, which begin on July 23.
“They are refusing our calls to extend parliament in the face of one of the worst crises for decades,” Yukio Edano, leader of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, told the lower house before the vote.
Despite the fact that Japan has escaped the ravages of the coronavirus, its delayed vaccination rate and inconsistent reaction have eroded support for Suga.
According to a poll conducted by NHK public television, 37% of respondents approved of Suga’s government, while 45% disapproved.
The disapproval rate was at its highest since the prime minister took office in September, but the no-confidence motion had always been unlikely to pass due to the majority held by his Liberal Democratic Party and other coalition partners.