Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan leader Kenta Izumi clashed with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Wednesday, demanding he dissolve the Lower House for a snap election over the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s handling of its slush fund scandal.
“You’ve been saying that you’ll deliver results one issue at a time. If you consider the revision of the political funds law as one of the results, then you won’t get a pass,” Izumi told Kishida in a parliamentary debate among party leaders, pressing the prime minister to turn to the electorate. “It’s time to ask for the people’s judgment.”
It was the first time Kishida engaged in a debate with other party leaders since he took office.