The ruling Liberal Democratic Party is considering postponing the completion of its review of the results of last month¡¯s parliamentary election to early September from this month, people familiar with the matter said Thursday.
The delay mainly reflects Prime Minister and LDP President Shigeru Ishiba¡¯s schedule of diplomatic events.
The extension of the review period may affect efforts by some in the party to oust Ishiba as the LDP is expected to consider whether to hold an early presidential election after the review concludes.
The LDP established a committee to review its drubbing in the July 20 Upper House election. The panel was scheduled to compile a report by the end of this month.
However, Ishiba is busy with a series of diplomatic events this month. The ongoing Tokyo International Conference on African Development runs through Friday. South Korean President Lee Jae Myung is scheduled to make his first trip to Japan on Saturday, while Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to visit Japan on Aug. 29.
Considering this, along with the need to gather opinions from the youth and women¡¯s affairs divisions of the party, the review committee now plans to conclude the review in the first week of September.
Party executives plan to hold a general meeting of LDP lawmakers to explain report for the review.
The LDP presidential election administration commission is set to hold its second meeting on Wednesday. Members are expected to discuss specific ways to confirm whether LDP lawmakers and prefectural chapters want to hold a leadership vote, but are expected to hold off on the confirmation process until after the Upper House election review is completed.
Some party members oppose efforts to oust Ishiba. Public opinion polls have shown that many support Ishiba remaining as prime minister, and a prolonged review may influence LDP lawmakers still on the fence.
An LDP member looking to oust Ishiba has slammed the delay, saying that party executives are ¡°aiming to avoid a leadership election by running out the clock,¡± as a parliamentary session is expected to be convened in autumn.
The election administration commission¡¯s plan to have lawmakers and prefectural chapters disclose their names when expressing their views on a possible early leadership election is ¡°a ploy to make fence-sitters hesitate,¡± the member added.
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