Japan's prime minister, Yoshihiko Noda, made clear yesterday he was in no rush to go to the polls, speaking of the risk of a "political vacuum" in a speech likely to anger an opposition that has urged him to keep a promise to call an election soon.
The ruling Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) swept to power in 2009 and holds a slim majority in the powerful lower house of parliament, but the opposition's domination of the upper house has allowed it to block crucial budget-deficit funding legislation.
The opposition Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) is using the issue to press Noda into calling an early election, at a time when opinion polls show Noda is likely to lose any vote.
But the prime minister showed no sign of being cowed when he delivered a policy speech at the opening of an extra parliamentary session called primarily to pass a bill needed to fund a 38.3 trillion yen (HK$3.73 trillion) deficit.
"In order to fulfil my responsibility for tomorrow, I cannot abandon jobs halfway to their completion," Noda told the lower house.
"We shouldn't create at will a political vacuum that would cause policies to stall."