自民じみん総裁そうさい選せん管理かんり委い国会こっかい議員ぎいんの意思いし確認かくにん方法ほうほう検討けんとう本格ほんかく化かの方針ほうしん

On the 8th, at the Liberal Democratic Partys General Meeting of Both Houses, there were numerous opinions calling for an extraordinary presidential election, and it was decided to entrust the process of determining whether or not to hold such an election to the Presidential Election Management Committee.

To implement this, a request from a majority of the partys Diet members is required, and the management committee plans to begin full-scale discussions on methods of confirming intentions and other related matters from late this month.

The Liberal Democratic Partys official decision-making body, the General Assembly of Both Houses, was held for about two hours on the 8th. Prime Minister Ishiba apologized for the defeat in the House of Councillors election and reiterated his intention to remain in office, stating that he wants to do his utmost in responding to the Japan-U.S. agreement on tariff measures and other issues.

At the general meeting, while there were voices supporting the continuation, there were also a series of opinions calling for a special presidential election. As a result, it was decided to leave the decision on whether to hold such an election to the Presidential Election Management Committee, chaired by Ichiro Aisawa.

For an extraordinary implementation, the party rules require a request from a majority of the total 295 party-affiliated Diet members and 47 prefectural representatives, which means 172 people are needed.

However, there has never been a case where an extraordinary presidential election was held due to anything other than the presidents voluntary resignation, so no specific rules have been established.

For this reason, Chairman Aizawa indicated that, based on the party executives plan to compile a review of the House of Councillors election by the end of this month, they will begin in earnest later this month to consider methods for confirming the intentions of the members and other related matters.

Prime Minister Ishiba said after the general meeting, I received many opinions, so I will sincerely take them to heart, use them as reference, and place importance on them.

We must properly take into account the overall review of the House of Councillors election.

It comes down to properly managing things in accordance with the party rules, he said.

Within the party, some believe that there is a possibility of gaining majority support, while others point out that there is also public criticism of placing all the responsibility solely on Prime Minister Ishiba, so the situation remains unclear. As a result, confusion within the party over whether Prime Minister Ishiba will continue in office is expected to persist.