By Linda Sieg
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's unpopular prime minister, YasuoFukuda, faced an unprecedented censure in parliament's upperhouse on Wednesday but the embarrassing opposition move was notexpected to force him to resign or call a snap poll soon.
The opposition Democratic Party and smaller alliessubmitted and were expected to approve the non-binding censuremotion, the first against a prime minister under the 1947constitution, in an effort to build momentum for an early lowerhouse election.
Ruling party officials brushed off the motion as apolitical gesture. "It is very unclear why they are presentinga censure motion. If I am pushed, I would have to say that theyare putting on a performance for the end of the parliamentsession," Kazuo Kitagawa, secretary general of the rulingcoalition's junior partner, the New Komeito party, told a newsconference.
No election for the powerful lower chamber need be helduntil September 2009, but Democratic Party leader Ichiro Ozawahas made no secret of his desire to force an early poll in thehope of ousting Fukuda's conservative Liberal Democratic Party(LDP), which has ruled Japan for most of the past six decades.
Fukuda's support rates have sunk to below 20 percent insome surveys on doubts about his ability to cope with a dividedparliament, although there have been recent signs the fall isbottoming out. The opposition controls the upper house and hasdelayed legislation and blocked key appointments, including thegovernment's first two choices for Bank of Japan governor.
"Although he was greeted with high support rates of morethan 60 percent, the prime minister is now flying low at below20 percent," the censure motion said. "The view that peopledon't know what he wants to do has become fixed, and the peoplehave given up on him," it said, calling for Fukuda to eitherresign with his entire cabinet or call a snap election.
ELDERLY OUTRAGE
Many Japanese voters would be happy to see the LDP lose itsgrip on power, but also have doubts about whether theDemocrats, an often fractious group of former LDP members,ex-socialists and hawkish younger lawmakers, are ready to takethe reins.
"I think the ruling party in Japan needs to change ... Ourgeneration is the one that needs to push this kind of politicalchange," said 33-year-old secretary Kanako Koga.
The 71-year-old Fukuda, a moderate known for favouringcloser ties with Asian neighbours, has already indicated thathe has no plan to step down as a result of the censure, whichunlike a lower house no-confidence motion has no legal clout.
On Monday he told a news conference that his first prioritywas to deal with policy issues rather than call an election.
Ruling bloc lawmakers are reluctant to risk an electionthat could well see them lose the two-thirds majority thatallows them to override upper house vetoes, if not their gripon power.
Tokyo stock market players, many of whom have already givenup hope that Fukuda will implement bold reform policies, hadlittle scope to ponder Japan's political saga.
"Political risk isn't something anybody's watching here.They're keeping their eyes out for companies' performances andwith what happens to the global economy," said Hiroaki Osakabe,a fund manager at Chibagin Asset Management.
Data released on Wednesday showed Japan's economic growthrevised up to 1 percent for the first quarter but it may be alast hurrah for the world's No.2 economy as surging rawmaterial prices and a global economic slowdown bite.
Some said political deadlock could worry markets if thestalemate persists after the July 7-9 Group of Eight summit.
The ruling bloc is considering countering the censuremotion with a confidence vote in the lower house.
Speculation persists that Fukuda could step down afterhosting the G8 summit in northern Japan or that the LDP mayreplace him with former Foreign Minister Taro Aso or some otherpotentially more popular rival, perhaps later this year orearly in 2009.
A parliamentary official confirmed that the Democrats andtwo smaller parties had submitted the censure motion, whichtargeted Fukuda for alleged missteps including the revival ofan unpopular petrol tax, bungling of public pension records,and the introduction of an unpopular medical insurance schemethat forces some people aged 75 and over to pay more for healthcare.
The confusing system outraged many elderly voters, long acore LDP constituency, and the Democrats want to abolish it.
No censure motion has been adopted against a prime ministerunder the post-World War Two constitution, but in 1998 thenDefence Minister Fukushiro Nukaga -- who now holds the financeminister portfolio -- was forced to resign about a month afterthe upper house approved a censure motion against him.
(Additional reporting by Mari Saito, Isabel Reynolds,Elaine Lies and Teruaki Ueno; Editing by Michael Watson)
