Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Thursday categorically denied that he is considering dissolving the Lower House for a snap election, amid rumors suggesting he could resort to such a political gamble as his support rates plummet.
"I would like to say, loud and clear, that dissolving the Lower House for a general election is nowhere in my mind," Abe told the Lower House Budget Committee, in response to a question from opposition lawmaker Kazumi Sugimoto of the conservative Nippon Ishin no Kai.
Abe's comment came a day after Hiroshi Moriyama, Diet affairs chief of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, had abruptly floated the idea that Abe could dissolve the Lower House as a way to counter a potential move by the opposition bloc to submit a motion of no confidence against Abe's Cabinet, following a litany of recent scandals involving the prime minister.