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Struggling Japan PM says no snap elections now
TOKYO (AFP) - - Japan's new Prime Minister Taro Aso on Monday brushed aside talk of an immediate election, vowing to concentrate on revitalising the ailing economy as he struggles to win over voters.
"Our priority is to let the supplementary budget pass. Therefore, I don't have dissolution (of parliament) in mind at this stage," Aso said.
"I presume that what people are most concerned about right now are the prospects for the economy," he said.
Aso was speaking to a parliamentary committee that was looking at an extra 1.81 trillion yen (17 billion dollar) budget he has proposed to help the world's second largest economy cope with rising prices.
Aso is also looking at additional funding to help stimulate Japan's economy, which is teetering on recession as the global financial crisis saps foreign demand for its exports.
Aso, a flamboyant campaigner and ex-foreign minister, took over on September 24 from Yasuo Fukuda, who resigned amid sagging popularity after he raised medical costs for elderly people to ease the budget burden.
But Aso's initial poll ratings disappointed strategists in his conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) who hoped he could call an election quickly to contain a rising opposition, which controls one house of parliament.
The latest opinion poll by the Asahi Shimbun showed that public support for the Aso cabinet has already fallen further, slipping to 41 percent from 48 percent in a survey taken immediately after he took office.
Ominously for Aso, 40 percent of voters said they preferred a government led by the opposition Democratic Party of Japan against 34 who wanted rule by the LDP, which has been in power for all but 10 months since 1955.
The liberal newspaper surveyed 1,036 eligible voters on Saturday and Sunday.
The term of the lower house expires in September next year but the opposition has stepped up demands for an early election.
Aso has broken ranks with recent LDP premiers such as Junichiro Koizumi by supporting government spending to boost the economy, downplaying free-market reforms that the opposition charges has widened the gap between rich and poor.
A separate survey by the Nikkei business daily found that 69 percent of Japan's major companies agreed that Aso's priority should be economic stimulus rather than cutting the national debt, which is the worst among rich nations.
"Let's say a doctor comes to a person whose heart isn't beating well and proposes to improve his health. That won't mean anything if his heart stops," Aso said.
"We have to do a lot of things such as cardiac massage or drip infusion," Aso said. "The economy is in a considerably severe situation. It we fail to take action right now, something terrible may happen."
In the parliament session, Aso also pressed for a renewal of a naval mission in the Indian Ocean providing fuel and other logistical support to the US-led "war on terror" in Afghanistan.
"Using common sense, it's impossible for me to fathom that Japan alone would withdraw in the middle of the fight against terrorism in Afghanistan," Aso said.
"We have received the world's appreciation. It is extremely significant for us to work with the world as a member of the global community in the war on terror."
The opposition forced a temporary halt to the operation last year, arguing that Japan -- officially pacifist since World War II -- should not take part in "American wars."
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