The policy chief for Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party said a no-confidence motion being considered by an opposition party may be a cause for dissolving parliament, leading to a general election.
Koichi Hagiuda, head of the Policy Research Council at the LDP, made the remarks on a Sunday television news program amid ongoing speculation that Prime Minister Fumio Kishida may call an early election.
Japan’s largest opposition party, the left-leaning Constitutional Democratic Party, is considering submitting a no-confidence motion against Kishida’s cabinet before the current parliament session ends later this month, Kyodo reported Saturday citing unidentified lawmakers.
The possibility of Kishida calling a general election to take advantage of an improvement in polling numbers and better-than-expected economic expansion has come under more focus after Japan hosted the Group of Seven summit in May.
Hagiuda said that as prime minister, Kishida would be the ultimate decision-maker regarding any dissolution of parliament. Both Hagiuda and the leader of another opposition party said on the TV program they did not agree with the no-confidence motion.
