Japan's ruling Democrat Party on Monday suspended power-broker Ichiro Ozawa for three months after he abstained from a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Naoto Kan, a report said.

DPJ Secretary General Katsuya Okada and other executives said they had made their decision after Ozawa repeatedly refused to follow the party line and back the centre-left leader, the Kyodo news report said.

Kan survived the opposition no-confidence motion last week that some rebel members of his own party had threatened to support, after appeasing his enemies by promising to step down but without specifying a date.

Although he survived the motion, the vote underscored the deep divisions inside the ruling party as it tackles reconstruction and relief from the March 11 earthquake, tsunami and ensuing nuclear crisis.

Ozawa, Kan's key rival inside the DPJ, had indicated he would support the move against the prime minister, Kyodo news previously reported.

The no-confidence motion was submitted by the main opposition Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), their smaller ally the New Komeito party and the Sunrise Party, and is expected to be backed by the Communist Party.

The opposition LDP -- which was ousted by Kan's DPJ in 2009 after more than half a century of almost unbroken rule -- has accused Kan of a weak response to the massive disasters.

Seven other DPJ lawmakers who also abstained from voting on the June 2 no-confidence motion, including former foreign minister Makiko Tanaka, were also suspended from the party for three months, the report added.

Tweet

Related Links Democracy in the 21st century at TerraDaily.com