LDP to gauge lawmakers' support on whether PM Ishiba should be replaced

The Mainichi

8 hours ago

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japan's ruling party plans to gauge the support of its members in writing on whether it should hold an earlier than scheduled leadership race, a party lawmaker said Tuesday, as incumbent Shigeru Ishiba faces calls to step down following poor showings in recent elections.
The Liberal Democratic Party's election panel met to discuss the details of how a presidential election could be called in the middle of an incumbent's term. It has never held such a race based on existing party rules, but Ishiba's defiance to stay on as Japanese leader has led the party to consider the option.
"It's an issue that should be dealt with speedily", Ichiro Aizawa, who heads the election panel, told reporters after the meeting.
A party leadership election can be held if the move is supported by the majority, or 172, of lawmakers and local chapter executives, according to the party's rules. Ishiba, who became LDP president and prime minister last year, can also run.
The LDP decided in early August that its election panel could go ahead with the process of checking whether its members support the idea of holding an earlier-than-scheduled presidential race.
Ishiba, whose current three-year term ends in September 2027, has been seeking to deflect mounting pressure from fellow LDP lawmakers and local chapters demanding that he resign, after the ruling coalition lost its majority in the House of Councillors in the July 20 election.
With the coalition already a minority in the more powerful House of Representatives, this means that support from the opposition camp is required to pass any bills and budgets.
The timing for the LDP to start soliciting views on a presidential election will hinge on its ongoing internal probe into why it suffered its worst upper house election loss in years.
Secretary General Hiroshi Moriyama, the LDP's No. 2, has said the review will be completed by the end of August.