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Kishida might call snap election in 2023 if ratings improve: Yomiuri Shimbun contributor
The writer says the low approval rating for Kishida’s Cabinet recently has shown slight signs of recovering.
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Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida delivers his policy speech at the lower house of parliament in Tokyo on Jan 23, 2023.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Shuhei Kuromi
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TOKYO - When will Prime Minister Fumio Kishida dissolve the House of Representatives? Many politicians in Japan are focused on that question.
Koichi Hagiuda, chairperson of the Liberal Democratic Party’s Policy Research Council, has repeatedly urged the dissolution of the lower house for a general election before the Diet votes on tax hikes to cover an increased defence budget. “When we have asked the people to pay new taxes in the past, we always got their consent through elections. We need to do so this time as a matter of course,” he said on a Jan 31 internet broadcast.
