After days of chaos within the Liberal Democratic Party, the movement to oust Prime Minister Taro Aso as party president effectively failed Friday, setting the stage for a Lower House dissolution Tuesday and a general election Aug. 30.
LDP lawmakers, including former Secretaries General Hidenao Nakagawa and Tsutomu Takebe, had played a central role in trying to bring Aso down, calling on party executives to hold a special decision-making meeting Friday before Aso dissolved the Lower House.
Such a session of the Joint Plenary Meeting of Party Members of Both Houses of the Diet could have led to a decision to hold a party presidential poll to pick a new leader.
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