Ex-PM Suga Warns against Early General Election

TOKYO (Jiji Press) — Former Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Sunday warned against dissolving the House of Representatives for an early general election.

“We are not in such a situation,” Suga said in a Fuji Television program. “We must fully accept” the results of last month’s parliamentary by-elections, which highlighted the LDP’s narrow victories, he added.

Meanwhile, Suga noted that the power to dissolve the lower house belongs to incumbent Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

On how to finance measures against the country’s declining birthrate, the former prime minister said it is important to take a close look at the entire social security system, instead of resorting to raising social insurance premiums.