LIMA, Nov 21 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Taro Aso said on
Friday Japan may need to extend its current session of
parliament to pass a bill to help struggling banks, a move that
would further expose a policy paralysis in the recession-hit
economy.
Aso is facing a deepening deadlock in a divided parliament
as the main opposition Democratic Party refuses to vote on
bills, including one allowing an injection of public funds into
regional and other lenders to ease funding for smaller
companies.
"If the financial support bill is not enacted because (the
opposition) continues to be against it, there are sure to be
views from the public that there will be big consequences,
including that for financing smaller firms," Aso told
reporters.
"If there is opposition to the end, then (the session) may
need to be extended more," said Aso, who is in Peru to attend a
weekend Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting.
The Democrats have stepped up their offensive in the
opposition-controlled upper house, saying Aso has reneged on
his promise to put the economy first because of his refusal to
say when he will submit a second extra budget.
The ruling coalition can pass legislation rejected by the
upper house by using its two-thirds majority in the lower
house. But if the upper house holds off on a vote, 60 days must
elapse from the time the lower chamber first approved the
legislation.
That means the current session of parliament would need to
be extended beyond its end on Nov. 30 into early January for
the banking bill to be enacted without a vote from the
opposition.
The political maneuvering comes as the Democrats are
increasingly frustrated with Aso's seeming reluctance to call
an early election.
Aso was expected to call a snap poll shortly after taking
office in September, to seek a mandate to break the stalemate
in the divided parliament.
But he has shied from doing so, saying the priority was
shielding the economy from the global financial crisis.
Political analysts have said polls showing Aso's popularity
slipping since he took office were also making the leader
cautious of a vote that need not be held until September 2009.
Aso gave few hints on whether he would call an election any
time soon, although he noted that the ruling Liberal Democratic
Party had won some elections in the past that it was widely
expected to lose.
"The decision would be based on many factors, so you can't
say for certain what it would be," he said, when asked what the
deciding factor would be.
(Reporting by Chisa Fujioka, editing by Vicki Allen)
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