The Liberal Democratic Party-New Komeito ruling bloc easily shot down a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Taro Aso on Tuesday, but the LDP slipped further into chaos as members pressed for their unpopular leader to exit.
The opposition-controlled Upper House later approved a nonbinding censure motion against Aso. With this bid, all deliberations in the chamber stopped and the remaining bills in the Diet, including one to allow inspections of ships going to and from North Korea in line with a U.N. resolution, were expected to be scrapped.
It is second time a nonbinding censure motion against a prime minister has been approved. The first, against Yasuo Fukuda, was adopted by the Upper House in June 2008.