Elections for both chambers of the Diet should be held together in 2013, Prime Minister Naoto Kan said Tuesday, denying he intends to dissolve the Lower House and call a snap election anytime soon.
Speculation has been mounting among the ruling bloc and opposition lawmakers that the unpopular leader, who heads the Democratic Party of Japan, may call a Lower House election and seek a voter mandate for his proposed policy shift to curb use of nuclear power.
But holding a major election while the nation is still trying to recover from the March 11 quake and tsunami would draw public outrage, particularly among survivors in the disaster-hit areas.
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