Japan PM Ishiba announces intent to stay in office
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, president of the Liberal Democratic Party, on Monday announced his intent to remain in office after his party's rout in Sunday's House of Councillors election.
"We've received an extremely harsh judgment from the public," he told a press conference at the party's headquarters. "(The result) was extremely deplorable. I apologise."
But he said, "We will not allow stagnation in national politics."
He cited ongoing tariff talks with the United States, rising prices and the possibility of a big earthquake in the Tokyo metropolitan area as reasons for his decision to stay in office. "Such things do not wait for the political situation to be settled," he said.
The LDP's coalition with Komeito lost its majority in the upper chamber of the Diet, the country's parliament, in Sunday's election after becoming a minority force in the House of Representatives, the lower chamber, in last year's poll.
The LDP fell short of a majority in both chambers while in power for the first time since its establishment in 1955.
At the news conference, Ishiba said that the LDP and Komeito held a meeting of their leaders and agreed to continue working together to steer the government.
He also said he has no immediate plan to expand the coalition to include any other party. Meanwhile, he called for discussions on measures to fight rising prices among ruling and opposition parties.
Ishiba said he will keep intact the current cabinet and LDP executive lineups for the time being, while mentioning that LDP executives will reach the end of their term in September.
Regarding the US tariff issue, Ishiba expressed a desire to meet with US President Donald Trump as soon as possible to achieve "tangible results."
With Washington set to impose a 25 per cent tariff on Japan from Aug. 1, Ishiba said he aims for an agreement that would benefit both countries.
[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
