<figure id="attachment_403738" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-403738" style="width: 3382px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="5aee4beb"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/12/5f28a6cd174f32c56978d99a6c371829.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-403738" class="wp-caption-text">Prime Minister Ishiba attends a meeting with unsuccessful lawmakers</figcaption></figure>
<h2> A Heartless &#8220;Apology</h2>
<p> The Ishiba cabinet continues to face a difficult administration after losing the October lower house election and falling to the ruling minority. On December 8, the same day as the 69-day tenure of Muneyuke Uno, the third shortest tenure under the current constitution, the LDP held a &#8220;round-table meeting with non-incumbent former branch chiefs&#8221; at its headquarters to allow the executive to exchange views with lawmakers who lost their seats in the recent lower house election.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> The meeting was held at the LDP headquarters on December 8. As president, it is my responsibility. I will humbly listen to your voices and do everything I can.</span></p>
<p> Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, 67, apologized to the unsuccessful candidates.</p>
<p> The meeting was attended by about 100 unsuccessful Diet members, including former Education Minister Hirofumi Shimomura (70), former National Diet Committee Chairman Takeshi Takaki (68), and former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives Seijiro Eto (83), but former Secretary General Akira Amari (75) and former Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications Ryota Takeda (56) were not in attendance. Former Olympics Minister Tamayo Marukawa (53) attended the meeting but did not appear before the press.</p>
<figure id="attachment_403741" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-403741" style="width: 3559px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="9dea7fca"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/12/7055b351d89bf0ffee8f7bcd706c086c.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-403741" class="wp-caption-text"> Takeshi Takagi, who lost the election in the wake of the Abe faction&#8217;s slush fund scandal.</figcaption></figure>
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<p><span class="strongInContent"> The current executive committee has the authority to appoint who will be the branch chief. At the meeting, more than 30 people asked questions and exchanged opinions for two and a half hours, but perhaps the position of branch head was still lingering in the air, or perhaps they voiced their dissatisfaction with the executive board but did not go so far as to call for his resignation,&#8221; said a former member of the House of Representatives who attended the meeting.</span></p>
<p> Still, there were some who questioned the executive committee about the transfer of 20 million yen to the branch of an unapproved candidate who was involved in a slush fund case.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> However, the party&#8217;s secretary general, Yutaka Moriyama (79), simply apologized, saying that he had made a mistake in timing, but no one took responsibility and the decision-making process remained unclear. Four days before the election, the issue of the 20 million yen payment erupted, causing even the winning candidate to lose the election. &#8230;&#8230; There is no way we can have a constructive discussion about &#8216;politics and money&#8217; now.</span></p>
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<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" Ruthlessness in cutting off even &quot;senpai&quot; (senior members)"></div>
<figure id="attachment_403742" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-403742" style="width: 2938px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="1a8912f1"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/12/d4eea674634c64652b284650edf4aff0.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-403742" class="wp-caption-text">Hirofumi Shimomura, a fiercely indignant</figcaption></figure>
<h2> Failed Congressman&#8221; Provides Emotional Support</h2>
<p> At the end of the meeting, Mr. Ishiba only said briefly, <span class="strongInContent">&#8220;I would like to make efforts to better manage the party while listening to opinions.</span></p>
<p> After the meeting, Shimomura spoke to the press, <span class="strongInContent">saying, &#8220;The atmosphere [of the election campaign] changed in an instant because of the 20 million yen issue. The opposition parties used it as an opportunity to attack me, and even when I made speeches on the streets, they stopped listening to me. It was very damaging. It also led to my own failure to win the election,&#8221; he said</span> angrily.</p>
<p> Mr. Eto appealed, <span class="strongInContent">&#8220;The party&#8217;s executive committee, which decided not to allow duplicate candidacies or not to recognize them, should also bear responsibility.</span> The veteran lawmaker&#8217;s complaint is not likely to be personal.</p>
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<figure id="attachment_403763" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-403763" style="width: 4000px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="c8a9951f"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/12/e018770a66f7b91f1a08306e2bb53281-rotated.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-403763" class="wp-caption-text"> Mr. Eto revealed about his advice to Prime Minister Ishiba.</figcaption></figure>
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<p> In April, Mr. Eto was suspended from party office for failing to record 10.7 million yen in his political fund balance report. He was not allowed to run for the election as a multiple candidate for the proportional representation, and was unsuccessful in the Oita 2nd Constituency.</p>
<p> On the other hand, Mr. Eto was one of the first to support Mr. Ishiba in the presidential election, advising him before the election <span class="strongInContent">to &#8220;drink with your fellow Diet members and bow down to them even if you don&#8217;t want to</span>. By admonishing Ishiba for his lack of social interaction, Eto played a role in the birth of the Ishiba administration. After the dissolution of the Diet, Mr. Ishiba told him <span class="strongInContent">, &#8220;I won&#8217;t let you lose your seniors. I will enter Oita&#8217;s second constituency,&#8221;</span> but Mr. Ishiba never entered Mr. Eto&#8217;s constituency.</p>
<p> Mr. Eto showed this magazine the incoming call log on his smartphone, which showed countless calls from Mr. Ishiba. There was a time when I called him every day,&#8221; he said.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> He would say, &#8220;I guess he&#8217;s having trouble finding someone he can talk to. His expression is dark, so I tell him, &#8216;Smile more. Whenever he has a hard time, I tell him to remember what I said and smile. I hope there will be more smiles in the Diet. &#8230;&#8230;&#8221;</span></p>
<p> After saying these words, Mr. Eto stopped the reporter&#8217;s repeated questions with his hand and walked away from the party headquarters.</p>
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 Daisuke Iwasaki

 Takeshi Kinugawa

 On December 8, a "round-table meeting with non-incumbent former branch chiefs" was held at the LDP headquarters, where the executive board exchanged opinions with lawmakers who lost their elections in the recent Lower House election. What did Prime Minister Ishiba have to say to the candidates who are aiming to win the next election?

The “unexpected advice” revealed by a “big-name unsuccessful Diet member” on whom lonely Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba relies.

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