Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga's management of his administration and his strategy regarding the dissolution of the lower house are likely to be impacted by the result of the July 4 Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election, for which campaigning kicked off on Friday.
"Protecting the lives and livelihoods of the people is the responsibility of the ruling party. We will fight to the end," Suga said at a ceremony to mark the start of the campaign at Liberal Democratic Party headquarters on Friday morning.
Suga is not expected to take part in stumping events as he is focusing on COVID-19 measures. Instead, he will deploy Cabinet members and party officials.
The LDP suffered a crushing defeat in the last election, winning only 23 seats, a record low for the party. The poor performance coincided with the emergence of Tomin First no Kai, but Tomin does not have the same momentum this time, so it could be an opportunity for the LDP to increase its seats significantly.
However, if LDP members express their concerns about having him as the face of the party in a national election, Suga might be forced into a situation where he cannot dissolve the House of Representatives, depending on the outcome of the Tokyo poll. There may even be calls within the party urging him to step down.
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