Another day, another opposition party causes trouble in the Diet. If there's one thing Japanese politics is known for, it's being able to not get along, almost as poorly as our own Republicans and Democrats at this point in our not so storied history.
That said, translating the article was pretty straight forward. There was one sentence the required a little interpretive guesswork but hopefully I captured the meaning correctly.
首相問責を参院可決＝ 今国会解散に応ぜ ず―民・自党首選に突 入
参院は２９日夜の本会議で、新党「国民の生 活が第一」など野党７会派が提出した野田佳彦 首相の問責決議を、７会派や自民党の賛成多数 で可決した。問責決議に法的拘束力はなく、首 相は自民党が求める今国会での衆院解散には応 じない方針。野党は参院での審議拒否に入り、 ９月８日の会期末を前に、国会は空転状態と なった。政局の焦点は、９月の民主党代表選、 自民党総裁選に移る。
首相は先の谷垣禎一自民党総裁との会談で、 「近いうち」の衆院解散で合意した。しかし、 民主党内では早期解散に反対する声が大勢。同 党の輿石東幹事長は２９日、記者団に「今回ほ ど不思議な問責はない。自民党が賛成した意味 が理解できない」と自民党を批判。別の民主党 幹部は「これで『近いうち』解散は白紙になっ た」と明言した。
首相は９月２１日の党代表選に出馬する意向 を示唆、再選が有力視されている。ただ、原発 再稼働や環太平洋連携協定（ＴＰＰ）参加に反 対する議員の間には「反野田」候補の擁立を模 索する動きもある。
与野党には、首相は再選されれば１０月前半 にも臨時国会を召集し同月中に解散を断行。１ １月に衆院選挙が行われるとの見方が広がりつ つある。
一方、谷垣氏は記者団に「一日も早く解散 し、しっかりした政治運営の体制をつくる責任 を首相は受け止めなければならない」と強調し た。しかし、首相が今国会の解散に応じるそぶ りを見せないことから、党内では谷垣氏への不 満がくすぶっており、石破茂前政調会長や安倍 晋三元首相らを次期総裁候補に推す声がある。
http://jp.wsj.com/Japan/Politics/node_503090
Prime Minister censure passes Upper House -LDP DPJ rushing to leadership elections with no response on dissolving the Diet
On the evening of the 29 th , a motion to censure Prime Minister Noda Yoshihiro submitted by 7 opposition parties, led by new “People’s Life First” party passed on the support of the 7 parties and the LDP. The censure motion has no legal binding force and the prime minister is continuing his policy of not responding to the LDP’s demand for dissolution of the lower house. The opposition in the upper house has moved to complete legislative denial, and the Diet has entered a state of stalemate leading up to the 9/8 session end. The parties’ focus is moving to the September leadership elections of the DPJ and LDP.
The Prime Minister, in a previous meeting with the LDP party chief Sadakazu Tanigaki, agreed to dissolve the lower house “in the near future.” But, opposition with the DPJ to an early dissolution has gained strength. Party Secretary Higashi Koshishi told reporters on the 29 th that “there’s never been a more confusing censure. I can’t understand the intent of the LDP in voting for it.” Another DPJ executive said “With this vote, “the near future” has become a blank slate.”
The Prime Minister has hinted at running in the party leadership election on 9/21 and is the likely strongest candidate. That said, among party members who opposed the nuclear reactor restart and Trans Pacific Partnership, the search for an “anti-Noda” candidate is on. For both parties, if the prime minister is re-elected, it is expected that he would take decisive action to call a special session in the first half of October to dissolve the lower house. Expectations for a November Lower House election are spreading.
Tanigaki told reported, “The Prime Minister must take responsibility and dissolve parliament as soon as possible in order for a robust governmental structure to be built.” However, due to the Prime Minister not showing any intention of dissolving the Diet during this legislative session, dissatisfaction with Tanigaki is growing within the LDP and former prime minister Shinzo Abe and former party policy chief Shigeru Ishiba have been mooted as candidates to run in the party leadership elections.
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