July 5, 2019

Apparently fearing protests and hostile crowds, the Liberal Democratic Party did not disclose Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s stump schedule for the first two days of campaigning for the Upper House election, which started July 4.

The party explained that the schedule of Abe, also the LDP president, could suddenly change to deal with the disaster caused by the torrential rains in southern Kyushu.

However, a similar schedule blackout occurred in the run-up to the 2017 Lower House election as LDP officials feared organized protests and jeers from spectators.

On the morning of July 4, Abe summoned ministers dealing with the heavy rains in Kyushu to the prime minister’s office and issued instructions to them to respond to damage triggered by the heavy rains.

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http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201907050048.html