The ruling Democratic Party of Japan and the two main opposition parties, the Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito, on Tuesday struck a deal, making it certain that the Diet will pass by Aug. 26 a bill to float government bonds needed for the fiscal 2011 initial budget, and a "feed-in-tariff" bill to get power companies to buy all electricity from renewable energy sources at a certain price.
On Wednesday, Prime Minister Naoto Kan said he will resign after the two bills are enacted. Passage of the two bills will satisfy the final two of the three conditions he had set for his resignation. Passage of the second fiscal 2011 supplementary budget, which passed the Diet on July 25, was one condition.
Mr. Kan should remain true to what he said. If he changes his mind about resigning, it would add to the political stagnation that has gripped Japan for about the past 2½ months.
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