Tokyo: Japan's Prime Minister Taro Aso signalled today he had no plan to call early elections for at least a few months as he pledged to focus on the economic crisis.
"It is clear that economic measures are what we must be in a hurry to do," Aso told his first news conference of this year.
"It is important to pass budgets and related bills. I have no plan to dissolve (parliament for elections) until then."
The ruling coalition is to submit budget bills to parliament, which will convene on Monday, hoping to pass them by the end of this fiscal year ending March 31.
Legislation in Japan is often caught up in legislative gridlock as the opposition controls the less powerful upper house of parliament.
Aso, who took office little more than three months ago, needs to hold an election by September, but the opposition has been pressing the premier to dissolve the lower house as soon as possible.
The Aso government's approval rating has plunged below 20 percent in recent polls, with voters giving more support to the opposition than the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).
The LDP has been in power for all but 10 months since 1955. But its popularity has rapidly dwindled due to scandals, gaffes and concerns over the handling of the economy, the world's second largest.
