Despite his dwindling opinion poll numbers, Prime Minister Taro Aso said Thursday that he will dissolve the Lower House before too long, brushing off growing calls within his own Liberal Democratic Party to find a new leader.
"I will not say today when I am going to dissolve it, but I believe it will be in the not-so-distant future," Aso said during a speech at the Japan National Press Club in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo.
With the terms of House of Representative legislators expiring in September, all eyes are on the prime minister to see if and when he will dissolve the chamber and call a snap election. Aso repeated his intent Thursday.