Abe to reshuffle Cabinet amid calls to resign

JAPAN: Prime Minister Shinzo Abe rejected calls to resign Monday as an invitation for a power vacuum but said he would revamp his Cabinet after a humiliating election defeat that signaled a broad voter revolt against his feeble government.

"I cannot walk away even though the situation is extremely difficult. I decided (to stay) because we cannot afford to create a political vacuum," Abe said at an afternoon news conference focusing on damage control following Sunday's devastating defeat in upper house polls.

"My responsibility is to fulfill the duty to fully achieve economic recovery," he said. Abe also shot down suggestions that he should call snap elections in parliament's lower house to re-establish his political mandate. Instead, he announced plans to shuffle his Cabinet and the party leadership, possibly as early as September.

"Voters said we must reflect on our shortcomings and refresh the lineup," Abe said. "I plan to reshuffle the Cabinet and top party posts at an appropriate time."

Public outrage over millions of missing pension records and a series of political scandals stripped Abe's Liberal Democratic Party of its majority in parliament's 242-seat upper house on Sunday, while handing the opposition huge gains.

The LDP remains in control of the lower house and thus still controls the government, but the defeat Sunday was a clear sign of Abe's tumbling fortunes and a dramatic reversal of the stellar support he enjoyed when he took office less than a year ago.

By Monday morning, newspaper editorials were urging Abe to resign. "Voters gave a clear failing mark," the Asahi newspaper said. "The prime minister should face the results seriously and step down."

The Tokyo and Mainichi newspapers meanwhile called on Abe to disband parliament's lower house for snap elections that could put a new premier in office.

"You have yet to be baptized in a general election," the Tokyo Newspaper said in an editorial addressed to the beleaguered prime minister. "We call for an election to be held promptly to give voters the opportunity to make their choice."

Official election results released early Monday showed the LDP and its junior coalition partner, the New Komeito, with a total of 103 seats - a 30-seat loss that left it far short of the 122 needed to control the house. The main opposition Democratic Party grabbed 112 seats, up from 81.

Only 121, or half, of the upper chamber's 242 seats were up for grabs in Sunday's polls.

While Abe has refused to step down, the LDP's No. 2 official, Secretary-General Hidenao Nakagawa, resigned in the face of mounting losses.

The LDP still controls the more powerful lower chamber, which chooses the prime minister. But calls for Abe's resignation could start sounding from within the Liberal Democratic Party.

While there is no clear front-runner to succeed Abe as premier, Foreign Minister Taro Aso is often cited as a possible contender.

Some senior LDP lawmakers were taking a wait-and-see stance in the aftermath. Ruling party veteran Koichi Kato described Abe's decision to stay as hasty. "I'm not sure if it was the right decision," Kato said. Yukio Hatoyama, a Democratic Party leader, said the vote sent "a strong message of no-confidence" to Abe.

"We'll watch if he stays on despite that," Hatoyama said of Abe.

Abe painted his continuation as a matter of making good on previous pledges to push through reforms. He said economic revival and constitutional reform will top the agenda as his party moves forward.

"I'm ready for a rocky road, but we cannot go on without pursuing the reform track, and that requires commitment and plans," Abe said. "I've already promised reforms that must be put into action. I've kept my promises and I will continue to do so."

Yet, Sunday's defeat will make it more difficult for the LDP to pass bills that are contested, with the upper house expected to have a president from the Democratic Party of Japan whose members would also dominate key posts in house committees.

Tokyo, Monday, AP