Japan: New PM Dissolves Lower House of Parliament Ahead of Elections
Japan’s new Prime Minister, Shigeru Ishiba, dissolved the lower house of Parliament on Wednesday in preparation for early elections scheduled for October 27.
“We aim to approach this election fairly and sincerely, so that the government can regain the public’s trust,” Ishiba, 67, told reporters.
The Speaker of the House, Fukushiro Nukaga, subsequently read a letter from the Prime Minister bearing the Emperor’s seal, officially announcing the dissolution.
Ishiba, who took office just last week, intends to strengthen his mandate through this election to advance his agenda, which focuses on enhancing security and defense, increasing support for low-income households, and revitalizing Japan’s rural areas.
His predecessor, Fumio Kishida, who served nearly three years, left office with historically low approval ratings, partly due to a funding scandal involving Kishida’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), from which Ishiba also comes.
Kishida was also criticized for his perceived inability to address inflation, which has diminished the purchasing power of Japanese citizens since 2022.
Despite these challenges, the LDP, along with its coalition partner Komeito (center-right), maintains a comfortable majority in the lower house, holding 290 out of 465 seats.
With the dissolution of the lower house, Ishiba aims to gauge his party’s strength at the polls before the conclusion of his “honeymoon” period, according to Yu Uchiyama, a political science professor at the University of Tokyo.
