Party leaves Japanese coalition over U.S.-base dispute

L.A. Times Archives

May 31, 2010 12 AM PT

Tokyo — — A small party decided to leave Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama’s ruling coalition over his broken campaign promise to move a U.S. Marine base off Okinawa island, and he faced angry calls to resign Sunday.

The departure of the Social Democratic Party from the three-party coalition is unlikely to bring down the government led by Hatoyama’s Democratic Party of Japan. But his poor handling could significantly hurt the Democrats’ performance in upper-house elections expected in mid-July.

“We have decided to leave the coalition government,” Social Democratic Party leader Mizuho Fukushima told reporters after meeting with party executives. “It was a tough decision to make, but a political party cannot do without public trust.”

Hatoyama dismissed Fukushima on Friday as the minister for gender equality and consumer affairs after she refused to sign a Japan-U.S. agreement to move the American base to a less crowded part of Okinawa.

Hatoyama’s decision to keep the base on Okinawa, broadly in line with a 2006 deal forged by the previous Japanese government, helped heal Tokyo’s ties with Washington but broke the prime minister’s campaign promise to move the base off the southern island. It has infuriated Okinawa residents, who have long complained about the heavy U.S. military presence.

Fukushima said Friday that her dismissal meant Hatoyama had turned his back on Okinawa. “My dismissal is a betrayal of the people,” she said.

Analysts say many voters sympathize with her and that Hatoyama would eventually have to step down to minimize the damage ahead of elections.

“Many voters now see Hatoyama as a liar who fired an honest minister who stood by her principles,” said Takehiko Yamamoto, international politics professor at Waseda University. “Prime Minister Hatoyama has lost credibility over what he says. He would have to step down to contain damage. If he lingers on, it would mean less support for the Democrats.”

Calls for his resignation are growing.

“Because he broke his promise, he has no choice but resign,” said opposition Liberal Democratic Party Secretary-General Tadamori Oshima.