Former Abe advisor Etsuro Honda warns that if Prime Minister Ishiba issues an "80-Year Statement" on August 15, it would mark the end of LDP rule.
He calls Ishiba's presence a "political vacuum" and urges immediate resignation, citing failure in elections and flawed US-Japan tariff negotiations.
“If PM Ishiba Issues an '80-Year Statement,' the LDP Will Collapse,” Declares Former Abe Advisor Etsuro Honda
(Source: Sankei News)
Etsuro Honda, former Cabinet Advisor and one of the key architects of "Abenomics" under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s second administration, has posted repeatedly on his X (formerly Twitter) account demanding that Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba (LDP President) resign in the wake of the Liberal Democratic Party's devastating loss in the Upper House election.
He has also delivered sharp criticism of the alleged “agreement” in the U.S.–Japan tariff negotiations.
“The mere existence of Prime Minister Ishiba constitutes a serious political vacuum for Japan.”
“How many times must he lose before the LDP appoints someone who even slightly aligns with public expectations and calls a general election?
The party’s crushing defeat came because the conservative base that once supported Abe has now abandoned them.”“Now that the people have delivered their verdict, the LDP must either correct its principles and policies and explain them to the public, or Ishiba himself must take responsibility and step down.”
Honda posted these remarks on July 21, the day after the election.
On July 25, he escalated his criticism:
“PM Ishiba has no option but to resign immediately.
The Japanese people have rejected him in three consecutive national elections.
Someone whose decisions constantly waver for the sake of self-preservation cannot possibly lead this ancient nation.
If he dares to issue an ‘80-Year Statement’ apologizing on August 15, it will be the death knell of LDP governance.”
“Trump Agreed to Tariffs Swiftly to Avoid Giving Ishiba an Excuse to Stay”
Honda was equally scathing about the alleged tariff “agreement” reached with the Trump administration:
“Ishiba clings to power by making up all sorts of absurd excuses.
The U.S.–Japan tariff deal is one such example.
Trump, seeking to avoid giving Ishiba an excuse to remain in office, rushed into an agreement immediately after the election—without a formal document, only a U.S.-issued fact sheet.
If Ishiba were a true patriot, he would resign immediately upon being treated as a vassal by America.”
(July 26)
On the following day, July 27, Honda expressed further outrage:
“This so-called ‘agreement’ in the U.S.–Japan tariff talks isn’t even coherent.
We hear that the U.S. created a fact sheet, but Japan never consented to it.
The Japanese side doesn’t even possess a copy of that fact sheet.
Without it, we don’t even know the legislative basis for the agreement—let alone what was actually agreed to.”
