Ishiba urges party to unite as crucial upper house vote looms

Japan Today

a day ago

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba (C) addresses a meeting of Liberal Democratic Party secretary generals in Tokyo on Saturday.
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Saturday urged senior members of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party to come together to "continue the coalition government" with a crucial House of Councillors election just weeks away.
His calls come after the LDP saw its worst-ever result in a Tokyo assembly election amid persistent money scandals and voter drift to smaller parties. With the LDP and coalition partner the Komeito party a minority in the House of Representatives, losing the upper house could cost Ishiba his job and reshape the ruling bloc.
Referring to the "harsh" Tokyo results at a meeting of prefectural secretary generals, Ishiba said the LDP "must analyze why new parties are gathering support and put up a fight in the upper house election."
A senior LDP lawmaker said the party is "losing unifying power among conservatives."
Their comments appeared to refer to smaller parties such as the right-wing populist Sanseito, which secured its first three Tokyo assembly seats in the election last weekend.
With cost-of-living concerns expected to be the biggest issue for voters in the July 20 upper house race, the LDP is promising cash handouts to ease household burdens.
A Kyodo News poll Sunday showed a majority of respondents oppose the policy, while 55.7 percent said tax revenue should be used to lower consumption tax -- a key pledge by multiple opposition parties -- in the event it increased.
At the meeting, Ishiba pushed back on the sales tax cuts as being of a greater benefit to the wealthy, adding that "while the cuts sound good, what happens to funding for social security?"
© KYODO