TOKYO, July 22 (Reuters) – Japan’s ruling party urged the
government on Thursday to earmark 2 trillion yen ($23 billion)
in next year’s budget to generate growth, but stressed the need
to cap spending and new bond issuance.

Prime Minister Naoto Kan’s government, fresh from an
election setback, is struggling to balance the need to curb
soaring public debt with achieving sustainable growth.

TOKYO, July 21 (Reuters) – Japan’s ruling Democratic Party
should not shy away from debate on raising sales tax in the
country despite a major setback in this month’s upper house
election, a senior party executive said on Wednesday.

The Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) and its tiny partner lost
their majority in parliament’s upper house after Prime Minister
Naoto Kan floated a possible doubling of the 5 percent sales tax
to curb the country’s massive public debt, and failed to persuade
the public that he had a well-crafted plan for curing Japan’s
economic woes.

TOKYO (Reuters) – Credit rating agencies are growing impatient with Japan’s inability to tackle its ballooning public debt, a task just made more difficult by the ruling party’s drubbing in upper house elections at the weekend.

The result means that Prime Minister Naoto Kan’s ruling coalition lost its parliamentary majority so will need help from other parties to get bills, such as on tax reform, passed.

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s government said on Tuesday it had to press on with tax reforms to cut a huge public debt despite a stunning election setback, and was looking to two opposition parties to help drive policy change.

Prime Minister Naoto Kan’s ruling coalition lost its upper house majority in a weekend election, putting his policies to deal with debt and generate growth at risk and prompting warnings by credit rating agencies S&P and Fitch on Japan’s sovereign ratings.

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s prime minister will seek cooperation with two swing-vote opposition parties on a policy-by-policy basis, a newspaper reported on Tuesday, as he faces political deadlock that could harm Japan’s credit rating.

Prime Minister Naoto Kan’s ruling coalition suffered a major blow in Sunday’s upper house election, putting his policies to deal with the country’s massive debt at risk and prompting a warning by credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s that it could cut Japan’s sovereign ratings.

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan faced political gridlock on Monday after the ruling party’s thrashing in a weekend election, which could thwart efforts to curb a huge public debt and get the economy in shape, and put Prime Minister Naoto Kan’s job at risk.

Voters dealt Kan’s Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) a stinging rebuke, depriving it and a tiny ally of an upper house majority less than a year after the DPJ swept to power promising change, the latest public backlash against leaders seen as incompetent.

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s ruling party, mauled in Sunday’s upper house election, faces an uphill struggle to win new allies to back its policies to cut back huge public debt and probably bitter infighting over whether the premier should quit.

Voters dealt Prime Minister Naoto Kan’s Democratic Party of Japan a stinging rebuke in the election, depriving the DPJ and its tiny ally of a majority less than a year after the Democrats swept to power with promises of change.

TOKYO, July 11 (Reuters) – Japanese Prime Minister Naoto
Kan, who has made fiscal reform central to his campaign for
Sunday’s election, wants to debate a rise in the politically
touchy consumption tax to curb soaring public debt.
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His call last month to discuss possibly doubling the 5
percent sales tax was a major shift from his Democratic Party’s
stance under predecessor Yukio Hatoyama, who had vowed not to
raise the tax for four years after taking power in 2009.

TOKYO, July 11 (Reuters) – Japan’s ruling coalition could
lose control of parliament’s upper house in an election on
Sunday that could stall efforts to curb a huge public debt and
put Prime Minister Naoto Kan’s job at risk.

Sagging support for the leading Democratic Party of Japan
(DPJ), which surged to power for the first time last year,
rebounded after Kan — Japan’s fifth leader in three years –
replaced his indecisive predecessor last month.

TOKYO, July 10 (Reuters) – Japanese Prime Minister Naoto
Kan urged voters to give his party a second chance in a weekend
election that could deliver a sharp setback to his government,
putting his job at risk and stalling efforts at fiscal reform.

Sagging support for the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ),
which surged to power for the first time just last year, jumped
after Kan — a former civic activist and Japan’s fifth leader
in three years — replaced his indecisive predecessor last
month.