Kishida Urges Ruling Party to Win April Elections

Jiji Press

13:32 JST, February 26, 2023

TOKYO, (Jiji Press)—Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida asked members of his ruling Liberal Democratic Party Sunday for strenuous efforts to win local and national elections in April.

“We need to make sure that we win. We’ll work together to protect the LDP’s seats,” Kishida, also LDP president, said in a speech at a party convention in Tokyo.

“It’s the time to take a new step forward toward creating the next 10 years by building on the 10 years of progress achieved by my predecessors, Shinzo Abe and Yoshihide Suga,” Kishida said, referring to the decade since the LDP won back power in December 2012.

Kishida said that early revisions to the country’s Constitution will respond to the needs of the times. “We’ll promote parliamentary discussions further by asking for support from opposition parties,” he said.

Natsuo Yamaguchi, leader of Komeito, the LDP’s coalition partner, stressed the need for the ruling bloc to win unified local elections in April. “We need to first secure a stable base in regional areas,” he said in a speech at the LDP convention.

The LDP adopted a campaign policy for 2023 that calls for strengthening cooperation with friendly labor unions. The party also vowed to make greater efforts to amend the Constitution.