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| "We need to face the judgement of the people, and I feel very solemn," Kishida told reporters in the morning. (Photo by=The Jiji Press) |
[Asia News = Reporter Reakkana] TOKYO: While seeking a public mandate for his government launched just last week, Japan's new Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is set to dissolve the House of Representatives on Thursday ahead of a general election at the end of this month, Kyodo reported.
The election, with the coronavirus response and economic policies of the various parties to the fore, will be held on Oct. 31 after the four-year term of lower house members expires on Oct. 21. The Liberal Democratic Party headed by Kishida hopes to capitalize on a recent lull in COVID-19 cases, while opposition leaders are still struggling to create a united front. It’s the first time in Japan's postwar history that a general election will be held after the term has expired, and the period between the dissolution of the lower house and voting day will be the shortest.
"We need to face the judgement of the people, and I feel very solemn," Kishida told reporters in the morning. The general election will be a chance for Kishida to secure wider public support for his policies focusing on reviving the world's third-largest economy which has been battered by the pandemic and enhancing its coronavirus response. Of the 465 seats of the lower house, the LDP and its partner Komeito won 310 in the last election in October 2017.
