The verdict is out. The upper house election was held on Sunday in Japan. The dominant DPJ (Democratic Party of Japan) is expected to lose some seats, possibly not getting the simple majority. The Prime Minister Kan says he will stay regardless of the results. Now that the DPJ does not have the majority seats in the upper house, for all passage of laws require coalition of some sort. The question should be then now is how long can Kan stand the pressure to dissolve the parliament.
It has been only five weeks since the Prime Minister Kan took office. The critics say the DPJ replace the unpopular Hatoyama-Ozawa pair with Kan-Sengoku for the election. The approval rate with the Hatoyama-Ozawa DPJ before the collapse was below 20%. When the popular Prime Minister Kan was appointed, the rate went up over 60%. The former administration under the Prime Minister Hatoyama collapsed when the Social Democratic Party left the coalition due to the US base scandal. The government then agreed with the US government that it will go with the relocation plans, despite the promises with the Okinawa residents that the US base would be moved out of the prefecture entirely, who regard the base as the major threats to their daily lives.
It has been only five weeks since the Prime Minister Kan took office. The critics say the DPJ replace the unpopular Hatoyama-Ozawa pair with Kan-Sengoku for the election. The approval rate with the Hatoyama-Ozawa DPJ before the collapse was below 20%. When the popular Prime Minister Kan was appointed, the rate went up over 60%. The former administration under the Prime Minister Hatoyama collapsed when the Social Democratic Party left the coalition due to the US base scandal. The government then agreed with the US government that it will go with the relocation plans, despite the promises with the Okinawa residents that the US base would be moved out of the prefecture entirely, who regard the base as the major threats to their daily lives.