The Japanese Communist Party will not cosponsor a non-confidence motion against the Kan Cabinet put forth by the Liberal Democratic Party, the Komei Party, and the Sunrise Party of Japan.

JCP Chair Shii Kazuo at a press conference on June 1 expressed the party’s intent to not jointly submit the motion to the Lower House, announcing that the party will abstain from a vote on the motion.

Given that Japan is undergoing a national crisis, it is an irresponsible act of political maneuvering to submit a motion without presenting clear vision of how to tackle the crisis, and the JCP will not have a hand in it, Shii stated.

He added, “But we will not oppose their submitting of the motion as we have never placed our confidence in the Kan government.”

Prior to the press conference, Shii met with four opposition party leaders (LDP, Komei, Sunrise, Social Democrats). Requested by LDP President Tanigaki Sadakazu for JCP’s co-sponsorship in the non-confidence resolution, Shii told him that the JCP will not participate in the joint submission.

Shii said to Tanigaki, “If your motion goes through, are you seeking a snap general election or the Cabinet resignation en masse? What kind of a government are you planning to set up after replacing the present Cabinet? You always have to show a vision before the public when you raise a no-confidence measure.”

Tanigaki answered that his party will demand the resignation of the Cabinet. As for a new government concept, he said, “The LDP doesn’t have any determined vision on that.”

Shii attributed the on-going nuclear crisis originally to successive LDP governments and criticized the LDP for not reflecting on this fact. He said, “How can we possibly be persuaded that a new government, without reflecting on past mistakes, can appropriately deal with the issue of nuclear power generation?”

He said that the JCP is not willing to take part in the joint submission, adding, “Our political stance is so different from the LDP in the fields of nuclear energy, domestic politics, and diplomacy.”