Takaichi Rules Out Possibility of Early General Election

Tokyo, Nov. 5 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Wednesday ruled out the possibility of dissolving the House of Representatives for an early general election. “We can’t afford to think about dissolving (the Lower House) right now,” Takaichi said at a plenary meeting of the all-important lower chamber of the Diet. The new prime minister, who took office last month, also expressed her willingness to revise the Constitution’s war-renouncing Article 9 and add an emergency clause to the supreme law. “Establishing a Constitution that meets the needs of the times is an urgent task,” she said. The remarks were made in response to questions from party representatives including Yuichiro Tamaki, leader of the Democratic Party for the People, and Harumi Yoshida, executive deputy president of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan. Yoshida criticized Takaichi’s order to labor minister Kenichiro Ueno to consider easing restrictions on working hours, saying that this could lead to overwork and related deaths. Takaichi replied that she does not accept overtime that could lead to overwork-related deaths, but added that consideration should be made based on the actual circumstances and needs of workers. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]