Suga Says He Accepts Election Losses Humbly

Tokyo, April 26 (Jiji Press)--Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said Monday that he humbly accepts his party's losses in Sunday's parliamentary elections, a closely watched test of voter sentiment toward a general election to be held by autumn. "We accept the people's judgment in a humble way and will correct what needs to be corrected," Suga told reporters after the ruling Liberal Democratic Party failed to win any of the three elections. Suga reiterated a cautious stance toward calling a snap general election for the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of parliament, at an early date. "There is no change in my stance of giving top priority to fighting the novel coronavirus," he said. The prime minister said the government will work to ensure that all elderly people in the country wanting to get vaccinated against the coronavirus receive a second shot by the end of July. In the LDP, the prevailing view is that public discontent over the government's response to the coronavirus crisis led to the election losses. Suga therefore referred to vaccinations when speaking to reporters. He also told a meeting of LDP executives that the government aims to "achieve results." Asked about money scandals involving current and former LDP lawmakers that became a key campaign issue in Sunday's elections, Suga told reporters that he takes voters' criticism seriously as the party's president. Some LDP members believe that Secretary-General Toshihiro Nikai and other party executives were not committed enough to the elections. "It has become clear that under the leadership of Suga and Nikai, we cannot fight the Lower House (general) election," one LDP member said, forecasting that support for Suga will decrease within the party ahead of its presidential election in autumn. Yukio Edano, leader of the major opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, told reporters that Sunday's election results reflected voters' disapproval of money-oriented politics. Edano said the CDP will step up discussions with other opposition parties on cooperation in the general election. Candidates fielded or supported by the CDP won all of Sunday's races. END