Japan’s Kishida dissolves parliament ahead of general elections

Tokyo, Oct 14 (EFE).- Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida dissolved parliament Thursday, allowing the official call for a general election by the end of this month where he will seek to be elected after the resignation of his predecessor.

General elections in the country will take place Oct. 31 after the lower house of parliament was dissolved Thursday after its four-year term was meant to expire Oct. 21.

It is the first time since the post-war period that the country has convened legislatures after parliament’s mandate has almost ended, so the period from its dissolution to the vote will be the shortest since the end of World War II, at just two weeks.

“We need to face the judgment of the citizens,” Kishida said Thursday morning in front of the press.

Yukio Edano, leader of the main Constitutional Democratic Party opposition, criticized the response of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party of Kishida during the coronavirus crisis, “always going behind,” according to Kyodo agency.

After Suga’s resignation, which occurred in the worst wave of infections in Japan to date, the internal race for the leadership of the liberals led to the Sep. 29 election of the new party president, who was then made prime minister on Oct. 4.

Japanese citizens will go to the polls when the country has overcome its worst wave of infections and the vaccination rate with the full dosage exceeds 65 percent of the population.

Japan has been registering minimum infections for two weeks, something that has not occurred for more than a year, under 1,000 in the entire country and with less than 100 cases a day in the capital.

In his inauguration speech, Kishida highlighted as main objectives to continue working to respond to the pandemic and revitalize the economy, with what he has called a “new capitalism” to strengthen the middle class, including possible wage increases and higher corporate profit rates.

Although the PLD is not experiencing its greatest moment of popularity, it is expected Kishida’s party, which has ruled in Japan since the end of World War II, except for a period of 10 months (2009- 2011), validate his victory at the polls. EFE

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