TOKYO: Japanese Prime Minister KISHIDA Fumio, also president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, said Tuesday he takes “seriously” the party’s defeat in all three House of Representatives by-elections held Sunday.

“I must fulfill my responsibility by tackling the challenges I face and producing results,” he told reporters at the prime minister’s office in Tokyo.

“I’m not at all considering (dissolving the Lower House for a general election), Kishida added.

In the Lower House by-elections, the LDP, mired in a slush fund scandal involving intraparty factions, did not field its candidates in the No. 15 constituency in Tokyo and the No. 3 district in Nagasaki Prefecture, southwestern Japan, while fielding a candidate in the No. 1 constituency in the western prefecture of Shimane.

The main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan swept all three elections.

The money scandal “significantly” hurt the LDP in the Shimane by-election, Kishida said, adding, “I’d like to apologize to our candidate and local supporters.”

“I’ll work on restoring public trust by coming up with an answer to each of the challenges such as LDP and political reforms, wage hikes and measures to tackle rising prices,” Kishida said.

He sounded negative about reshuffling the party’s leadership team, saying: “Fulfilling responsibilities is more important than anything else. Based on this (attitude), we will make thorough efforts to regain public trust.”

Kishida stressed that he will work hard to compile his party’s own proposal on the envisaged revision of the political funds control law to prepare for discussions at the special committees on political reform in both chambers of parliament after the end of the Golden Week holiday period in early May.

The party will also determine a direction for talks on issues other than the proposed law revision for the special committees, Kishida said.

JIJI Press