Japanese media “proposed Kishida’s resignation in March next year”
While Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is facing a crisis due to allegations of slush funds from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, of which he is president, Shigeru Ishiba, former secretary-general of the Liberal Democratic Party, who has high public support as a ‘post-Kishida’, resigned. He mentioned and pressed.
According to local public broadcasters NHK and Fuji News Network (FNN) on the 12th, former secretary-general Ishiba appeared on BS Fuji’s ‘Prime News’ the night before and said regarding Prime Minister Kishida’s response to the issue of political funding of the Liberal Democratic Party, “If next year’s budget plan is established, “I think it is possible to quit (as prime minister),” he said.
He went on to say, “Disbanding the House of Representatives and asking the people to decide could also be a way to take responsibility.” In Japan, the prime minister has full authority to dissolve the House of Representatives. After dissolution, general elections will be held.
Initially, Japan’s budget is established at the end of March in a normal year after deliberation at the regular National Assembly. FNN pointed out that former Secretary General Ishiba “is in the form of a proposal for (Prime Minister Kishida’s) resignation at this time.”
In addition, in response to calls for lawmakers from the party’s largest faction, the Abe faction, who are suspected of slush funds, to be dismissed from the three political positions in the cabinet, he expressed his negative stance, saying that excluding the Abe faction altogether was “wrong in order.”
He expressed concern, “If the same case occurs in other factions, it will not just be a commotion that will delay government administration, but the end of the Liberal Democratic Party’s regime.”
The main opposition party, the Constitutional Democratic Party, submitted a resolution of no confidence in Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno, who is suspected of slush funds, to the House of Representatives. Former Secretary General Ishiba pointed out that if Chief Cabinet Secretary Matsuno resigns after the ruling party rejects the resolution with a majority of opposition, it would be “the height of contradiction.”
Former Secretary General Ishiba suggested, “Resigning before the no-confidence motion is rejected is one of the options.”
In a recent public opinion poll conducted by Japanese media, former Secretary General Ishiba is listed as the top person suitable to be the next prime minister.
Former Secretary General Ishiba is a member of the party’s fringe. In 2015, he gathered forces to oppose then-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and formed the ‘Ishiba faction’. However, as its centripetal power weakened due to the defeat in the presidential election, the organizational form was changed to a ‘congressman group’, effectively disbanding the faction in December 2021.
In Japan, which has a cabinet system, the president of the ruling party becomes prime minister. Prime Minister Kishida’s term as governor is about to expire in September next year.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.