Five influential LDP lawmakers agree that “power should be handed over to the opposition party”; Seiji Kihara joins in asking Secretary-General Moriyama to “step down”

On July 22, five senior lawmakers from the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP)—including former Internal Affairs Minister Tsutomu Sato, former Justice Minister Yoshihisa Furukawa, and former Economy Minister Koichi Hagiuda—met at a Tokyo hotel. In response to the party’s crushing defeat in the upper house election, they agreed that the LDP should hand over power to the opposition. This was confirmed by one of the attendees.

Also present were former Economy Minister Ken Saito and former Deputy Finance Minister Nobuhide Mihokawa. These five regularly meet with LDP election chief Seiji Kihara, forming a group of six.

After the meeting, Sato visited party headquarters and told Secretary-General Moriyama that, given the LDP has become a minority in both houses of parliament, the group believes it’s time to “return to the basics and step down from power.”

One attendee said, “Let the opposition try running the government for once so people can see how hard it really is.” Another added, “Since none of the opposition parties are willing to work with the Ishiba administration, stepping down would be the responsible way to avoid a deadlocked parliament.”