The parliamentary elections in Japan could take place in November.

Tokyo, Aug. 21 (Jiji Press) — There are growing expectations that the next general election for the House of Representatives, the all-important lower house of Japan’s parliament, will be held in November.

Many expect it will take some time before the Lower House is possibly dissolved, as the new leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, who will be elected on Sept. 27, will first have to be elected prime minister in an extraordinary parliamentary session to replace the outgoing Fumio Kishida, form a new Cabinet and participate in parliamentary debates. However, the new leader’s advantage as a fresh face of the LDP could diminish if the snap election is not scheduled soon after the party leadership race.

“The decision will be made by the person who becomes the new (LDP) president and prime minister,” Hiroshi Moriyama, chairman of the party’s general council, said at a press conference on Tuesday, referring to the timing of the dissolution of the lower house.

Some in the LDP say the new prime minister should “decide to dissolve the Lower House without hesitation.” Former LDP Secretary General Shigeru Ishiba, a possible candidate for the party chairmanship, said on a television program on Monday that he believed the general election could be set for Oct. 27.

On that day, a by-election for a seat in the upper house of parliament will be held in the Iwate prefecture constituency. The election is to fill the seat vacated by the resignation of a former LDP lawmaker over fraud related to secretaries’ salaries.

(Copyright: The Jiji Press, Ltd.)