TOKYO, Feb. 17 (UPI) -- Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan's government faced a tough time gaining support needed to win passage of key budget bills, some lawmakers said.
The Daily Yomiuri Shimbun said the bills must be approved by parliament by the end of March, the deadline to put fiscal 2011 budget into effect.
However, the report said the prospect of winning opposition cooperation appeared tough as the Diet Tuesday began discussing some of the 26 bills submitted to it.
The report said some lawmakers of Kan's ruling Democratic Party of Japan even talked of Kan being forced to step down as he fights to tackle to country's huge debt.
"As (the budget and related bills) affect the people's lives significantly, I want to see them passed by the Diet with the cooperation (of the opposition)," he was quoted as telling reporters.
The bills include a special one-year bill for issuance of deficit-covering government bonds, and tax system revisions, the report said.
Adding to Kan's worries, The Wall Street Journal reported 16 lawmakers within his party planned to form an independent group that may not support the bills.
However, the party secretary was quoted as saying the DPJ wouldn't allow such a step. The 16 lawmakers' complaints include opposition to the proposed 5 percent consumption tax.
Japan's government debt currently is just below 200 percent of the GDP, the highest among industrialized nations, the Journal reported.
