Snap Election Could Take Place With No Confidence Motion To Be Submitted

Kyodo News reporting that a no-confidence motion is set to be submitted against the Cabinet of PM Yoshihide Suga on Tuesday. This could spur the dissolution of parliament and the holding of a snap general election before the official deadline for the vote to take place in October.

• Yesterday, at the conclusion of the G7 summit in Cornwall, England, Suga stated that he would 'not rule out' the dissolution of the House of Representatives and the calling of an early general election if opposition parties carried through on a threat to submit the motion of no confidence.
• The timing of a potential challenge to the Suga gov't is not ideal, with the gov't mulling whether to lift COVID-19 states of emergency in several prefectures, and the Olympic Games due to begin in Tokyo in just over a month on 23 July.
• Suga stated that he would make a decision on the timing of an election "when the time comes." adding that the election "...could happen any time. But my top priority is dealing with the coronavirus...I want to bring back safety and security to the Japanese people as soon as possible."
• Comes as Suga engaged in a brief conversation with South Korean President Moon Jae-in on the sidelines of the G7 summit. The two have had no official in-person meeting since Suga took office in September 2020, with the Japanese side saying Suga engaged in conversation to 'avoid a diplomatic faux pas'. Japan and South Korea remain in a state of diplomatic paralysis over the issue of compensation for Korean forced labourers and 'comfort women' in WW2.