Japan: Prime Minister Kan to resign in late August

[News_Editor]

Japan: Prime Minister Kan to resign in late August

2011-06-22 08:25:58 GMT+7 (ICT)

TOKYO (BNO NEWS) -- Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan is expected to resign in about two months, some six months after an enormous earthquake and tsunami devastated the country, local media reported on Wednesday.

According to reports, Kan would resign by the end of August, just after he was able to secure parliamentary passage of the second extra budget, as well as a bill that will allow the government to issue bonds in order to cover the year's fiscal deficit, the Kyodo news agency reported.

After several weeks of discussions and rumors, the date of the Prime Minister's resignation was agreed by the Democratic Party of Japan, which is headed by Kan, and major opposition parties, including the Liberal Democratic Party and the New Komeito party.

In the beginning of June, Kan survived a no-confidence vote after abruptly announcing his intention to resign after the nuclear crisis and the earthquake and tsunami relief efforts were concluded, promising the younger generation to take over his duties. However, his eventual resignation was uncertain.

Japan has been facing an ongoing nuclear crisis since the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant was severely damaged on March 11 when a 9.0-magnitude earthquake and a subsequent tsunami devastated the country. The disaster disabled the cooling systems of the plant, and radioactive elements leaked into the sea and were later found in water, air and food products in some parts of Japan.

At least 23,482 people were killed, while 8,069 people remain missing. There are still more than 88,000 people who are staying in shelters in 21 prefectures around Japan.

According to the Japan Research Institute, the country's reconstruction efforts will cost between 14 trillion yen ($174.58 billion) and 18 trillion yen ($224.46 billion) in the upcoming 10 years, including 9.1 trillion yen ($113.47 billion) this year alone. Japan has already allocated a 4 trillion yen ($48.89 billion) emergency budget to finance the early phase of reconstruction efforts following the disaster.

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