Why don’t you name and stab the backstabbing legislators in the back?” Shinji Ishimaru’s advice to Prime Minister Ishiba, who is struggling against the unstoppable “Ishiba-ori

Shinji Ishimaru advises Prime Minister Ishiba: “If you’re going to be let down anyway…”

While calls for Ishiba Shigeru (68) to step down from his post are rife after his party suffered a crushing defeat in the Upper House election, an unexpected person offered advice to the Prime Minister, Ishiba Shigeru (68), who has maintained his policy of continuing to serve as the prime minister.

At a press conference held on August 27, Shinji Ishimaru, 43, head of the regional political party “Rebuilding Path,” announced that he would step down as representative of the party. When asked what he thought of the “downing of Ishimaru” that was raging within the LDP and what he would do if he were in Ishimaru’s position, he responded with a wry smile, “That’s an unreasonable hypothetical question.

He replied, “Quitting is a way of taking responsibility, and rebuilding without quitting is another way of taking responsibility, and I don’t have an answer as to which is right. Just because you are a representative of an organization does not mean that you are entirely to blame. Both last year’s Lower House election and this year’s Upper House election had issues related to politics and money, so I don’t think that everything is the fault of Mr. Ishiba alone. Taking responsibility means taking responsibility, not within the LDP, but as the ruling party to the people.”

In last July’s gubernatorial election, Mr. Ishiba won 1.66 million votes, second only to Governor Yuriko Koike (73). He is not afraid to speak his mind, as he has caused an “Ishimaru whirlwind” with his campaign to “wipe out the political hacks. Ishimaru has no hesitation in his words.

If he is going to be removed from office anyway, he may as well be prepared to stab someone in the back. I will name this person and that person to take responsibility for the slush fund, and I will take them with me. It’s good for the LDP and it’s good for Japan.”

Some say that “the anti-Ishiba momentum has deflated.”

The LDP continues to waver over moving up the presidential election.

On August 27, the LDP Presidential Election Administration Committee held its second meeting. Despite it being mid-summer, the LDP showed both inside and outside the LDP that this was an important meeting by asking male LDP committee members to wear neckties.

A point of contention was whether or not to disclose the names of the members of the LDP who had asked to move the election forward. The presidential election is conducted by secret ballot, and the names of those who voted for the president are not made public. At the second meeting, following the first meeting, some committee members expressed the opinion that only the total number of demanding council members should be made public by secret ballot. However, the opinion prevailed that this would effectively force the president to resign, and the responsibility for this is heavy, so the committee decided to bring a letter signed and sealed by the council members demanding that the presidential election be moved forward.

It is a weighty decision, and I think that publicizing it as an electoral body will increase confidence in the party.”

Ichiro Aizawa, 71, the chairman of the Election Commission, stated that this was the reason for announcing the names.

The members of the Diet submit their names to the party headquarters on a single day between 9:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. on a day designated by the Election Administration Committee. Submission by a proxy is allowed only under unavoidable circumstances, but only after the committee members have contacted the council member on his/her cell phone and confirmed his/her intention to do so. It is prohibited to submit a batch of proposals by several Councilors.

The LDP will use e-mail for distant prefectural and prefectural federations, and for neighboring local organizations, it will ask them to bring the documents to the party headquarters.

One commenter suggested that if the LDP is to be convincing, transparent, and transparent in its dissemination of information, it would be better for the LDP to be publicly announced as an electoral body, which would increase trust in the LDP. We discussed various angles, including the various political ramifications, and finally decided to make the information public,” said Aizawa.

There are 295 LDP Diet members, and 47 prefectural representatives, for a total of 342. If the number exceeds the majority of 172, an extraordinary presidential election will be held. If the majority is not reached, President Ishiba will remain in office.

The momentum of the anti-Ishiba faction has waned.

One of the committee members, speaking on condition of anonymity, continued.

If the petitions are signed and sealed, and the names of those who submitted them are made public after the votes are counted, it will be clear that they were involved in the ‘downing of Ishiba. If the number of votes does not meet the majority and the presidential election is not held, some lawmakers may hesitate to vote, thinking that the executive branch will take retaliatory measures against them or give them a cold shoulder in personnel matters.

September 8 is the date for the counting of votes, but with the party headquarters lined with the media, it will be difficult for younger members and proportional-representation members, whose electoral ground is weak, to visit the party. If the 66 ministers, deputy ministers, and parliamentary secretaries in the Ishiba administration demand that a special election for president be held, some will say that the first thing they should do is resign.

Opinion polls show that the Ishiba administration is increasingly favored to continue in office. In response to the “downing of Ishiba,” the “stepping stone” of publicizing the names of those in power has been introduced. Will the publication of the names lead to the conclusion that the executive branch desires, or will the opposition spread?

The publication of names is nothing but pressure from the executive branch. I was going to write my name down and demand that the presidential election be held even if it was by secret ballot.

House of Councilors member Masashi Nishida, 66, known as the “bombastic man of the Diet,” is eager to see the presidential election moved up. Mr. Nishida continues, “Polls show that the number of voters is only about 1,000.

The polls are only about 1,000 people, and depending on how they are asked, they are not the true will of the people. The true will of the people is the election. The results of the election show that the people reject the Ishiba administration. We should hold a full-spec presidential election. If we don’t, the LDP will not last.”

The tug-of-war over Ishiba’s future continues, with no end in sight. For more than 40 days, the two parties have been engaged in a fruitless debate over policy issues. Mr. Ishiba should promptly implement the “stab each other in the back” and “take them by the road” plans that Mr. Ishimaru has pointed out.