‘No plan at all’: Japanese premier on snap elections after weekend losses

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) - Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Tuesday ruled out snap elections following a shock weekend defeat of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in three seats.

The LDP and the government will "concentrate on achieving results by tackling several issues" such as political funds reform, Kishida told reporters.

Kishida added that he has "no plan at all" to dissolve the parliament to allow a snap election, Tokyo-based Kyodo News reported.

The general elections in Japan are due late next year when the citizens will elect their lawmakers for a four-year term.

The last parliamentary elections were held on Oct. 31, 2021.

LDP faced a humiliating defeat, at the hands of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, in three by-elections over the weekend amid a political funds scandal that involved LDP members -- an indication that the party was undergoing the most unpopular phase in its history.

The ruling party even lost in the Shimane province, known as a conservative stronghold.

Kishida accepted the results, acknowledging that the political funds scandal had negatively affected the LDP, and said he “felt sorry.”

He will also seek a return as LDP leader around September, however, the weekend defeat and Kishida’s attempts to remove intra-party groupings may cost him the next chance.

The defeat of the LDP, which has ruled Japan for the most part since after World War II, also came amid the country’s volatile currency, the yen, plunged to new lows against the US dollar in the open market.

According to local media reports, the LDP insiders fear a "bloodbath" in case snap polls are held, while it will also be difficult for the party leadership to offer alternatives if intra-party groupings are dissolved.