LDP collects enough signatures for crucial meeting on Ishiba's fate
Tokyo, July 25 (Jiji Press)--Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party has collected enough signatures to call a general meeting that will hold Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba accountable for the party's crushing defeat in Sunday's parliamentary election, an LDP member who leads the signature campaign said Friday.
LDP rules stipulate that a general meeting be convened within seven days if more than one-third of its parliamentary members request it.
The required number of signatures has been met, Hiroyoshi Sasagawa, a member of the former LDP faction led by former LDP Secretary-General Toshimitsu Motegi, told reporters. The campaign will continue to secure a majority at a general meeting, he said.
Sasagawa said that he would decide when to submit the signatures after reviewing Ishiba's response at an informal general meeting that the LDP will hold on Monday to discuss the results of Sunday's House of Councillors election.
On Friday, the LDP's Youth Division urged Ishiba and other LDP leaders in writing to fulfil their accountability for the election results. This means a demand for Ishiba's resignation, Yasutaka Nakasone, director of the division, told reporters.
Ishiba met with three of his predecessors--Taro Aso, Yoshihide Suga and Fumio Kishiba--on Wednesday. Aso told a party veteran after the meeting that he would not allow Ishiba to stay on as prime minister.
On Friday, Ishiba reiterated his intention to stay in office. "I'll run the country while reflecting on the Upper House election," he said in a speech in Karuizawa, Nagano Prefecture, central Japan.
Social media posts calling for Ishiba to stay on are increasing. A rally was held near the prime minister's office on Friday night, asking Ishiba to remain in his post.
[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
