New elections at the end of October: Parliament in Japan dissolved

In Japan, the new Prime Minister Kishida has only been in office for ten days. Now he has dissolved the House of Commons and thus paved the way for new elections. He himself leads the ruling Liberal Democratic Party to parliamentary elections.

Japan’s new Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has, as expected, dissolved the lower house of parliament. The 64-year-old cleared the way for new elections. This was announced by the President of the House of Representatives, Tadamori Oshima, at a plenary session. Immediately after the announcement, all 465 members of the lower house rose, shouted “Banzai” three times (a cheer intended to bring joy and happiness) and left the hall. This means that the voters are called on October 31 to vote on the composition of the lower house.

Is the ruling coalition defending its majority?

The official election campaign begins next Tuesday. The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which has ruled almost continuously for decades, is campaigning with its new chairman Kishida and its coalition partner Komeito. The ruling party LDP is considered a favorite, but could lose seats in parliament because the population is dissatisfied with the government’s corona policy.

The new Japanese government is facing major challenges after the corona pandemic has severely affected the economy and the foreign policy situation with North Korea and China has worsened. Relations with South Korea have also deteriorated over the past few years due to historical disputes.

Kishida just in office

Only ten days ago parliament had appointed the former foreign minister as head of government. Kishida succeeded Yoshihide Suga, who had recently resigned with his cabinet. Suga had only been at the top of the government for about a year. His corona policy and his adherence to the Olympic Games in Tokyo were particularly criticized, although the virus spread in Japan.

Suga then announced that he would not run for chairmanship of the LDP again. In the fight for this office, Kishida prevailed in an internal party vote. The last general election in Japan took place in 2017 under the then Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.