Japan's Upper House of parliament voted today to reject a censure motion brought by the opposition against Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori.
Stepping up their attack on the hugely unpopular prime minister, the opposition submitted the motion hoping it would highlight the ambiguity of Mori's position after a weekend compromise that keeps him in office while paving the way for him to step down in a few weeks.
Rejection of the non-binding motion had been expected due to the ruling coalition's majority in the chamber.
Of 243 votes cast, 138 were against the motion and 105 in favour.
Mori confirmed yesterday that he would bring forward a vote for president of his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) to April from September, a move that paves the way for him to resign.
But he left financial markets and Japanese voters in the dark over when he would go by failing to set a date for the race or to state clearly that he would not run.