Japan PM says general elections may take place before September 2024

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
22 Jan 2023 18:44

The move comes against the backdrop of extremely low public approval rates of Kishida, as well as calls to dissolve the parliament.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks during a news conference at the prime minister's official residence in Tokyo, Japan October 14, 2021 (Reuters)

Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Sunday that the general elections may be scheduled to take place on September 2024, right before his term expires.

The move comes against the backdrop of extremely low public approval rates of Kishida, as well as calls to dissolve the parliament.

The survey, which was conducted by pollster Jiji, showed that Kishida's approval rate had brutally fallen to 26.5%.

Analysts argue that one of the reasons for the low rate is due to the government's plan to raise taxes and boost the defense budget to 2% of the country's GDP by 2027.

Kishida justified his decision to increase taxes on grounds that defense spending may increase as well as a series of other issues, including the declining birthrate, energy and wage raises.

"As we resolve these issues, it is necessary to consider the appropriate time to tackle such issues and the judgment of the public," the prime minister told reporters.

The policy involves increasing corporate taxes by 4-4.5% for businesses with an annual income of over 24 million yen ($181,000).

It also plans to implement additional taxes on tobacco by elevating the product prices by up to 10%.

On January 20, data from Japan's central bank revealed that the country's inflation rate has reached an all-time high in the last 41 years, with a core inflation rate recorded at 4% last December - double the Bank of Japan's (BoJ) initial target pace of 2% that was set in the last year.

The bank is being pressured to raise its interest rates in order to cope with the surging cost of goods and services.

Earlier this week, the Bank of Japan announced it will maintain its fiscal policy to near zero rates, yet some analysts predict it may soon end its yield control policy and allow interest rates to rise more.

Several analysts thought the central bank would depreciate the yen but on Wednesday, it announced that it maintained its interest rates near zero, which caused the yen to lose value against other major currencies.