Ishiba Braces for "Extremely Tough" Election Battles

Tokyo, March 8 (Jiji Press)--Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Saturday that his ruling Liberal Democratic Party is likely to face "extremely tough" battles in upcoming elections for the House of Councillors and the Tokyo metropolitan assembly later this year.

"We will go all out to win (the elections) for the next era," Ishiba said at a meeting of secretaries-general of the LDP's branches nationwide, asking for their support.

At the start of the meeting, Ishiba apologized for the party's dismal showing in last year's election for the House of Representatives.

With this summer's Upper House election in mind, Ishiba said that the key is what measures the party will present to deal with the rising cost of living and how it will offer reliable social security services.

"The most important thing is to make voters realize that the LDP is the party that best understands the feelings and hopes of local communities," Ishiba said.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]