Miyazawa Warns Against Disrupting Summit

As a rebellion within his own ruling party broadened, Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa warned Thursday that a campaign for a general election in Japan would disrupt the economic summit of seven industrial democracies that he is scheduled to host here July 7-9.

Miyazawa’s appeal, delivered by his top aide, Yohei Kono, chief Cabinet secretary, served to confirm that he fears he will lose a no-confidence motion submitted against him for abandoning a pledge to enact sweeping political reforms in the current session of Parliament.

Passage of the motion would force Miyazawa to resign or call an election for the lower house of Parliament, which elects the prime minister.

“Holding a campaign for a general election while hosting the economic summit is not desirable,” Kono told a news conference.

President Clinton and the leaders of Canada, Britain, France, Germany and Italy are scheduled to attend the summit hosted by Miyazawa. Russian President Boris N. Yeltsin also will come to Tokyo to meet the seven leaders after the summit.

Miyazawa’s appeal was made as 13 more legislators of the governing Liberal Democratic Party indicated that they might join the 35 lower-house members in the rebel faction nominally led by former Finance Minister Tsutomu Hata who have threatened to vote with the opposition against Miyazawa.

Defection of as few as 31 Liberal Democrats would allow the no-confidence motion to pass.

Ruling party leaders in Parliament refused to allow the motion to be put to a vote Thursday and scheduled a meeting of the lower house steering committee to ensure that no action can be taken before tonight. The current parliamentary session is scheduled to end Sunday.

Meanwhile, Liberal Democratic candidates for a Tokyo city assembly election dropped plans to have Miyazawa campaign for them. They also shifted the site of a speech that the prime minister is scheduled to make today to launch their campaign. He will speak from in front of party headquarters instead of in the street.

The city election, which is regarded as a harbinger of the next election for the lower house of Parliament, will be held June 27.