Photo/Illutration Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks at a July 21 news conference. (Takeshi Iwashita)

Declaring a hiatus should not be allowed in national politics, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba vowed July 21 to remain in office despite the disastrous showing in the Upper House election that saw his ruling coalition lose its majority.

Ishiba held a news conference at the Tokyo headquarters of his Liberal Democratic Party to address issues stemming from the outcome of the July 20 poll.

He acknowledged that voters had delivered an extremely harsh verdict, but pointed to pressing issues as reasons to stay on. He cited tariff negotiations with the Trump administration, rising consumer prices and the ever-present need to prepare for a natural disaster.

“Not even a single moment of stagnancy is allowed in politics,” Ishiba said. “While being acutely aware of the major responsibility for the election results, we must fulfill our responsibility as the top party (in terms of seats in the Upper House) as well as our responsibility toward the general public to not allow such stagnancy.”

Regarding the tariff negotiations with the United States, Ishiba said he wanted to talk in person with U.S. President Donald Trump as soon as possible to realize an agreement that is beneficial to both sides.

When asked during the news conference about expanding the framework of the coalition, Ishiba said he had no such intention at the present time.

He said he wanted to hold discussions with other parties in order to come up with responsible policies. However, he declined to name specific parties on grounds they all had their own circumstances to consider before entering into talks of that nature.

Ishiba was also asked about shuffling the LDP executive lineup to show accountability for the disastrous election outcome, but he said he had no intention at the current time of doing so.

Any Cabinet reshuffle would need to take the terms of LDP executives into consideration, he said.

When asked the root cause of the LDP defeat, Ishiba said it was difficult to point to one specific factor. However, he acknowledged that the LDP failed to come up with sharp responses to arguments made by other parties regarding specific policy areas, such as political reform, measures to deal with rising consumer prices and the surge in foreign residents living in Japan to help fill labor shortages.

Prior to the news conference, LDP executives held an emergency meeting where Secretary-General Hiroshi Moriyama said a panel would be set up to look into the factors behind the party’s defeat.

Ishiba also met with Tetsuo Saito, the Komeito leader. They agreed to continue with the coalition.

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