Japan PM Abe Likely to Dissolve Lower House Soon for Election

Tokyo, Sept. 17 (Jiji Press)--Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe plans to dissolve the House of Representatives, the all-important lower chamber of parliament, as early as the beginning of an extraordinary session of parliament likely to be convened on Sept. 28, informed sources said Sunday. Abe will make a final decision soon after watching mainly the situation surrounding North Korea, which has continued provocative acts, according to the sources in the government and ruling bloc. He has informed ruling coalition executives of the election plan, the sources said. The prime minister is believed to have judged that calling an early Lower House election would work to the advantage of the ruling coalition led by his Liberal Democratic Party in view of a recovery of public approval ratings for his cabinet and confusion in the main opposition Democratic Party. Under likely scenarios, the election will be held on Oct. 22 or Oct. 29, with the official campaign period starting on Oct. 10 or Oct. 17, according to the sources. In either case, the Oct. 22 by-elections in the No. 4 constituency of Aomori Prefecture, the No. 5 constituency of Niigata Prefecture and the No. 3 constituency of Aichi Prefecture will be called off and absorbed in the general election. A Lower House election needs to be held by December 2018. Abe met with Ryu Shionoya, chairman of the LDP's Election Strategy Committee, on Sunday night and said he will make a decision on when to dissolve the Lower House for an election after he returns from a visit to New York this week to attend the U.N. General Assembly session. As a reason for an early election, Abe told Shionoya that it would be difficult to make a decision after efforts to respond to North Korean provocations are prolonged. Abe also pointed to forces close to popular Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike who aim to set up a national political party by the end of the year. The new party will be prepared if an election is held at a later time, he said. Abe held talks with Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Taro Aso on Sept. 10. He met separately with LDP Secretary-General Toshihiro Nikai and Natsuo Yamaguchi, chief of Komeito, the coalition partner of the LDP, on Monday, and had another meeting with Nikai on Friday. At the meetings and other occasions, the prime minister informed them of his plan for a Lower House dissolution, according to the sources. He is very likely to dissolve the Lower House at the beginning of the extra session of parliament, an LDP executive said. On the timing of a Lower House dissolution, Abe is considering the opening day of the extra session of parliament, as well as immediately after the Oct. 2-4 question-and-answer sessions that will follow his policy speech to parliament, according to the sources. A Lower House election is likely to be set for October, with a visit to Japan by U.S. President Donald Trump, his first since taking office, being arranged for early November, the sources said. He may hold talks with Komeito leader Yamaguchi again before leaving for New York on Monday. In talks with reporters in St. Petersburg, Russia, on Sunday, Yamaguchi said his party will take part in the extra parliamentary session while being fully prepared as if it in a battlefield. Soka Gakkai, the lay Buddhist organization that backs Komeito, held an emergency meeting of local chapter leaders on Sunday. The DP, the Liberal Party and the Social Democratic Party canceled a meeting of their leaders planned for Sunday to discuss their approach to the extra parliamentary session and cooperation for the next Lower House election. Abe initially hoped to win a third three-year term as LDP president in the party leadership race in autumn 2018 and capitalize on the victory to call a Lower House election. He also looked at holding a Lower House election and a national referendum on constitutional amendments on the same day by making use of the two-thirds majority held by lawmakers in support of rewriting the national charter in both chambers of parliament. Any proposal to revise the constitution needs to be supported by two-thirds of each chamber's members before it is put to a public vote. Abe changed course, however, as he is expected to be grilled by opposition parties over scandals in the coming extra session of parliament and his cabinet approval ratings may take a hit again, according to the sources. The scandals include cronyism allegations against Abe over a university veterinary department plan by a school operator headed by a friend of his and the sale of state-owned land at a steep discount to a separate school operator once linked to Abe's wife. The prime minister also took into consideration a series of defections from the DP and the time needed for the creation of the national party planned by people close to the Tokyo governor, the sources said. But some in the ruling camp are opposed to causing a political vacuum in the midst of geopolitical tension over North Korea, which conducted its sixth nuclear test on Sept. 3 and fired a ballistic missile over Japan on Friday, the second of its kind in less than three weeks. In addition, he may be accused of maneuvering for party interests by calling a general election before his current cabinet, billed as a results-oriented team, has achieved little in economic areas since it was created in a reshuffle in August. END