Tokyo, 16 January, /AJMEDIA/
Former Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi is set to resign as a lawmaker soon, sources close to the matter said, likely setting up a by-election in April at the same time one is held for a seat previously held by his slain brother Shinzo Abe.
Kishi, currently an adviser to Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, is reported to have been afflicted with health problems in recent years and his decision not to seek re-election was disclosed at a meeting of his supporters in Iwakuni, Yamaguchi Prefecture, last month.
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party is expected to field the 63-year-old’s eldest son Nobuchiyo in the Yamaguchi No. 2 constituency of the lower house of parliament, while soliciting candidates for the No. 4 district that has become vacant since the former prime minister’s assassination last July.
Shinji Yoshida, a city assemblyman in Shimonoseki, has already announced his bid for Abe’s former seat. The 38-year-old has secured backing from Abe’s widow Akie and local supporters of the former prime minister.
A source within the LDP’s Yamaguchi chapter said Kishi is likely to resign as a lower house member in February.
Abe’s younger brother was first elected to parliament in 2004 as an upper house member. He was then elected to the lower house in 2012 and is currently in his fourth term. He was defense minister until Kishida reshuffled his Cabinet last August.
Former Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi is their grandfather.
