Kishida Vows to Ensure LDP Wins in April Elections

Tokyo, Feb. 26 (Jiji Press)--Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida pledged utmost efforts Sunday to ensure that his ruling Liberal Democratic Party wins a series of local and national elections in April.

"We'll work together to maintain the LDP's seats" in parliamentary by-elections, Kishida, also president of the LDP, said in a speech at a party convention in Tokyo. Referring to unified local elections, he said, "We need to win."

Kishida asked for continued cooperation from LDP members to help address challenges including beefing up the country's defenses and boosting its birthrate.

"It's the time to take a new step forward toward creating the next 10 years by building on the 10 years of progress achieved by my predecessors, Shinzo Abe and Yoshihide Suga," Kishida said, referring to the decade since the LDP won back power in December 2012.

Kishida said that early revisions to the country's Constitution will respond to the needs of the times. "We'll promote parliamentary discussions further by asking for support from opposition parties," he said.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]