Public opposition was so strong that on Wednesday the council approved a delay in voting on any future asset sales.
The cabinet approved a delay, through November, of 5 trillion yen $63 billionn) in public spending, most of that in tax grants for local governments and aid for universities.
If the full commission approves a delay, as seems likely, that would mean that a new president will be in office before most American companies are required to obey a law that was passed overwhelmingly during the second year of President Bush's first term.
If approved, a delay would buy time for Congress, the White House and postal officials to draft a package of reforms for the cash-strapped delivery service, whose leader warned again Tuesday that it is teetering on the brink of financial collapse and likely to go broke by fall 2012.
For instance, in Switzerland in 1998 there was a referendum on a single issue, in which the voters approved a delay of 2 years in the female retirement age, from 62 to 64, within the public pension system (see Bütler 2002).
The Senate has approved a delay of the digital Television transition.
His visit came a day after India's cabinet approved a delayed draft law that will pave the way for foreign companies to build reactors in India, where the atomic energy market is reported to be worth $150 billion.
First, he hopes that if there's enough suffering in Darfur, the United Nations Security Council will approve a one-year delay in the court's proceedings (he miscalculated, for that won't happen).
Mr. Gates is also likely on Thursday to approve a two-year delay in the Marine Corps version of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter aircraft, the military's largest program, and spell out how he plans to save up to $100 billion on the Pentagon's operations.
The House defied a veto threat by President Obama and voted Wednesday to approve a two-year delay in implementing part of the so-called Volcker Rule, a key banking regulation enacted in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis.
