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Suga rules out dissolving lower house soon, focuses on COVID-19 response
Suga, who also told reporters he will not postpone the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's leadership race scheduled for Sept. 29, is set to reshuffle LDP executives including Secretary General Toshihiro Nikai as soon as Monday, people familiar with the matter said.
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Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga speaks during a news conference in Tokyo, Japan Dec.4, 2020. (Reuters/Hiro Komae)
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rime Minister Yoshihide Suga on Wednesday ruled out dissolving the House of Representatives for a general election anytime soon given Japan's severe COVID-19 situation, tamping down speculation he will do so in mid-September.
Suga, who also told reporters he will not postpone the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's leadership race scheduled for Sept. 29, is set to reshuffle LDP executives including Secretary General Toshihiro Nikai as soon as Monday, people familiar with the matter said.
The change of LDP executives is a tactic often used in an attempt to buoy public support. Suga is also expected to reshuffle his Cabinet early next week.
"I've said COVID-19 countermeasures are my top priority, and that has not changed at all. Considering the severity of the current situation, dissolving (the lower house) isn't possible right now," the prime minister said.
The comments came amid speculation that Suga will call a general election in the hopes of winning at least a modest victory before facing off against former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida and other potential rivals in the party leadership race.
The current terms of the powerful lower house of parliament run through Oct. 21, but the prime minister has the power to dissolve it earlier.
Read also: Prime Minister Suga's ratings hit record lows as party leader race looms
With his public support flagging amid dissatisfaction with his government's COVID-19 response, the focus is on if and when Suga will exercise that option.
Another possibility is that Suga chooses to let lower house members serve out their terms, something that has happened only once before under Japan's postwar Constitution, during the government of Prime Minister Takeo Miki in 1976.
In either scenario, campaigning for the general election would likely begin Oct. 5 with votes cast on Oct. 17, according to government sources.
"It all comes down to the COVID-19 situation. It's impossible to decide whether to dissolve (the lower house) or not just yet," said one person close to Suga.
Jun Azumi, head of parliamentary affairs at the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, criticized the prime minister's unwillingness to set a date for the general election as "irresponsible."
Read also: Japan's Moderna vaccine contamination woes widen as 1 million more shots suspended
Japan is experiencing its largest wave of infections yet, with hospitals struggling to deal with a surge in patients with severe symptoms amid the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus.
The approval rating for Suga's Cabinet has fallen to its lowest levels since he took office last September, with some within his own party questioning his leadership.
Nikai, the LDP's No. 2 man and a power broker who played a key role in Suga's rise, has been criticized by some in the party as taking a high-handed approach and staying on as secretary general for too long -- a record five years.
Kishida, who has proposed imposing a limit of three consecutive years for LDP executives in a move widely seen as targeting Nikai, is set to hold a press conference Thursday to unveil his policy platform for the party leadership race.
