Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso hinted Sunday that a snap election could come "soon" in the latest remarks from a Liberal Democratic Party heavyweight pointing to a possible poll.
Aso, who serves concurrently as finance minister said in a speech in Niigata Prefecture that the next administration would likely face criticism for being formed without a public mandate.
"If so, I feel like (the new prime minister) is going to dissolve the Lower House," said Aso, whose faction — one of the LDP's largest — has endorsed Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga in the presidential race.