Japanese parliament clears way for troops to be sent to Iraq

THE Japanese parliament voted down a no-confidence motion against the cabinet of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi yesterday, clearing the way for final-stage debate on a bill allowing troops to be sent to Iraq.

Koizumi bowed a few times as the ruling coalition easily rejected, by 287 votes to 178, the motion tabled in the lower house of parliament by four main opposition parties earlier in the day.

The motion, which could have triggered the cabinet’s resignation or a snap general election if passed, accused Koizumi of “employing absurd sophistry” to defend the bill and also charged Koizumi’s reform drive had “completely faded” as Japan faces persistently high unemployment.