Motion for vote on resolution calling for Suzuki's resignation rejected

The House of Representatives Committee on Rules and Administration on May 14 rejected the opposition motion demanding that a resolution calling for the resignation of Suzuki Muneo from the Diet be put to a Lower House plenary session vote.

The Komei Party voted for the motion but other ruling parties voted against, and this caused a tie, so the committee chair, Hatoyama Kunio (LDP), decided to reject the motion.

At a news conference later in the day, Japanese Communist Party Secretariat Head Ichida Tadayoshi criticized the LDP for deliberately trying to bury Suzuki's political and moral responsibility. He said that by rejecting the motion, the Lower House itself has robbed individual Dietmembers of the opportunity to judge whether Suzuki should resign from parliament or not, and it only helps increase public distrust of politics. (end)