Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Thursday that he is not considering dissolving the lower house for now as he is focused on tackling several domestic challenges, such as the falling birthrate.
His remarks came amid speculation that he might call a snap election soon after the Group of Seven summit is held later this month in his home constituency of Hiroshima, as approval ratings for his Cabinet have been picking up since he made a surprise visit to Ukraine on March 21.
"As we are facing numerous policy agendas and we are making every effort to achieve progress on such important issues, I am not planning to dissolve the lower house for now," Kishida said at a press conference in Maputo, the capital of Mozambique.
Kishida has pledged to double spending for policies related to children despite Japan's budget constraints, amid mounting concerns among voters that his government will seek to carry out large-scale tax hikes to finance the costs.
Japan's fiscal health is the worst among major developed nations, with debt more than twice the size of its economy, the world's third-largest.
The premier, meanwhile, will seek to pitch his vision of a world free of nuclear weapons at the summit in Hiroshima, a city that was devastated by a U.S. atomic bomb in August 1945, amid growing concerns that Russia may use a nuclear weapon against Ukraine in the ongoing war.
In addition to a joint communique, Japan is aiming to arrange the release of a separate document centering on a G-7 commitment to nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation after the three-day summit from May 19, sources close to the matter said.
Mozambique is the last leg of Kishida's four-nation trip to Africa to strengthen ties with the "Global South," a term that collectively refers to developing nations in regions including Asia, Africa and Latin America.
Although Kishida wishes to obtain international solidarity in support of Ukraine, which has been under invasion by Russia since February 2022, many countries in the Global South have avoided taking a position on the war.
