Once again a Lower House resolution recommending the resignation of the scandal-tainted lawmaker, Mr. Muneo Suzuki, has been shelved. A motion calling for such a resolution to be brought before a plenary session of the House of Representatives was rejected Tuesday, with the Liberal Democratic Party and New Conservative Party voting against it. This is the second time since March that a resolution calling for Suzuki's resignation has been derailed.

This time around, voting in the Rules and Administration Committee was evenly divided, because New Komeito, which had voted against the motion in March, broke away from the ruling camp and backed the motion. In the end, Mr. Kunio Hatoyama, the chairman of the committee, used his deciding vote to reject the motion. The fact that it was a close contest does nothing to assuage the anger raised by the outcome. After all, the situation now is very different from what it was in March. The scandals surrounding Mr. Suzuki have developed into criminal investigations with the arrest of his state-paid first secretary and construction operators in Hokkaido.

The ruling parties blocked the progress of the Lower House resolution even though they are well aware that the public is keeping a keen eye on Mr. Suzuki's conduct and the responses of the parties. Such action utterly ignores public opinion and makes a mockery of the popular will. Criticism that the LDP is making a fool of the public is inevitable.