By Yoko Kubota
TOKYO, July 4 (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan urged voters on Sunday to give his party a clear win in a July 11 poll to avoid political deadlock as he renewed a call for multi-party talks on a possible sales tax rise to curb huge debt.
Kan also warned against the risk of a hasty shift to tighten Japan's fiscal stance, but added that the country could not keep relying on the sort of borrowing that has pushed its debt to nearly 200 percent of GDP, the worst among advanced nations.
Media surveys suggest Kan's Democratic Party of Japan will likely fall short of a majority in the upper house election and may need to seek new allies, complicating efforts to implement policies including steps to fix Japan's tattered finances.
'There have been five prime ministers over the last four years. Will politics become even more confused and unable to decide anything, or can we bring back responsible, stable politics?' Kan said in a debate with other party leaders on NHK public TV.
'I would like the people to choose a responsible and stable government,' added Kan, who took over after unpopular Yukio Hatoyama abruptly quit last month.
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Graphic on Japan voter support: http://r.reuters.com/myv63g
Graphic on voter intention: http://link.reuters.com/jev83j
Graphic on Japan's fiscal woes: http://r.reuters.com/sez92m
For more stories on the Japanese politics, click
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
The Democrats, who swept to power last year pledging to cut waste and put more cash into the hands of consumers, will almost certainly stay in power regardless of the poll outcome due to its huge majority in the more powerful lower house.
NO RUSH TO EXIT
But Kan hopes to avoid a situation like that faced by his main opposition Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) predecessors after a 2007 upper house election deprived the then-ruling bloc of a majority in the chamber, making it tough to enact bills smoothly.
The 63-year-old premier has made fiscal reform the core of his campaign in a risky shift since taking over from Hatoyama, who had vowed not to raise the 5 percent sales tax for four years.
But Kan, a former grassroots activist, reiterated on Sunday that he would seek a mandate from voters in a lower house election, which must be held by late 2013, before raising the sales tax.
He also stressed the need to balance fiscal reform with economic growth and strengthening Japan's social security system as its population ages.
'Too much fiscal austerity as well as rushing (to implement) an exit strategy would not be very good for either the Japanese nor the world economy,' Kan said.
But he added: 'We have been relying on bonds to fill in the gaps. Is it possible to continue doing so?' he said, once again referring to the spectre of the Greek debt crisis.
Most other party leaders, however, rejected Kan's call for multi-party talks on tax reform.
The main opposition Liberal Democratic Party agrees on the need for a future sales tax hike, but wants the Democrats to explain how this would mesh this with previous spending pledges.
The small pro-reform Your Party insists more waste must be cut before considering a higher sales tax, and its leader Yoshimi Watanabe has repeatedly ruled out a tie-up with the Democrats.
Even if the Democrats and its current partner, the People's New Party, keep their upper house majority, policymaking will not be smooth given the tiny PNP stance in favour of big spending and its opposition to raising the sales tax.
Kan needs a robust showing by the Democrats to fend off any post-election challenge from rivals within his party, such as powerbroker Ichiro Ozawa, that could make him the latest of the country's revolving-door leaders.
Support for the government and the Democrats has rebounded since Kan took over, but the government's ratings slipped back to around 50 percent after he called for debate on raising the sales tax.
(Editing by Sugita Katyal)
((yoko.kubota@thomsonreuters.com; Reuters Messaging: yoko.kubota.reuters.com@reuters.net; +81-3-6441-1886)) Keywords: JAPAN ELECTION/ (If you have a query or comment on this story, send an email to news.feedback.asia@thomsonreuters.com) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
TOKYO, July 4 (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan urged voters on Sunday to give his party a clear win in a July 11 poll to avoid political deadlock as he renewed a call for multi-party talks on a possible sales tax rise to curb huge debt.
Kan also warned against the risk of a hasty shift to tighten Japan's fiscal stance, but added that the country could not keep relying on the sort of borrowing that has pushed its debt to nearly 200 percent of GDP, the worst among advanced nations.
Media surveys suggest Kan's Democratic Party of Japan will likely fall short of a majority in the upper house election and may need to seek new allies, complicating efforts to implement policies including steps to fix Japan's tattered finances.
'There have been five prime ministers over the last four years. Will politics become even more confused and unable to decide anything, or can we bring back responsible, stable politics?' Kan said in a debate with other party leaders on NHK public TV.
'I would like the people to choose a responsible and stable government,' added Kan, who took over after unpopular Yukio Hatoyama abruptly quit last month.
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Graphic on Japan voter support: http://r.reuters.com/myv63g
Graphic on voter intention: http://link.reuters.com/jev83j
Graphic on Japan's fiscal woes: http://r.reuters.com/sez92m
For more stories on the Japanese politics, click
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
The Democrats, who swept to power last year pledging to cut waste and put more cash into the hands of consumers, will almost certainly stay in power regardless of the poll outcome due to its huge majority in the more powerful lower house.
NO RUSH TO EXIT
But Kan hopes to avoid a situation like that faced by his main opposition Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) predecessors after a 2007 upper house election deprived the then-ruling bloc of a majority in the chamber, making it tough to enact bills smoothly.
The 63-year-old premier has made fiscal reform the core of his campaign in a risky shift since taking over from Hatoyama, who had vowed not to raise the 5 percent sales tax for four years.
But Kan, a former grassroots activist, reiterated on Sunday that he would seek a mandate from voters in a lower house election, which must be held by late 2013, before raising the sales tax.
He also stressed the need to balance fiscal reform with economic growth and strengthening Japan's social security system as its population ages.
'Too much fiscal austerity as well as rushing (to implement) an exit strategy would not be very good for either the Japanese nor the world economy,' Kan said.
But he added: 'We have been relying on bonds to fill in the gaps. Is it possible to continue doing so?' he said, once again referring to the spectre of the Greek debt crisis.
Most other party leaders, however, rejected Kan's call for multi-party talks on tax reform.
The main opposition Liberal Democratic Party agrees on the need for a future sales tax hike, but wants the Democrats to explain how this would mesh this with previous spending pledges.
The small pro-reform Your Party insists more waste must be cut before considering a higher sales tax, and its leader Yoshimi Watanabe has repeatedly ruled out a tie-up with the Democrats.
Even if the Democrats and its current partner, the People's New Party, keep their upper house majority, policymaking will not be smooth given the tiny PNP stance in favour of big spending and its opposition to raising the sales tax.
Kan needs a robust showing by the Democrats to fend off any post-election challenge from rivals within his party, such as powerbroker Ichiro Ozawa, that could make him the latest of the country's revolving-door leaders.
Support for the government and the Democrats has rebounded since Kan took over, but the government's ratings slipped back to around 50 percent after he called for debate on raising the sales tax.
(Editing by Sugita Katyal)
((yoko.kubota@thomsonreuters.com; Reuters Messaging: yoko.kubota.reuters.com@reuters.net; +81-3-6441-1886)) Keywords: JAPAN ELECTION/ (If you have a query or comment on this story, send an email to news.feedback.asia@thomsonreuters.com) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
© 2010 AFX News
