But former chief Cabinet minister Kaoru Yosano, whose name has been floated as a possible successor to Fukuda, also said he thought the Japanese leader should soldier on and try to revive his support rates, now below 30 percent.

In a vote widely seen as a referendum on Fukuda’s struggling administration, former opposition Democratic Party lawmaker Hideo Hiraoka defeated the LDP’s Shigetaro Yamamoto in Yamaguchi, central Japan, in Sunday’s contest for a lower house seat.

“I think we should continue this administration until as close as possible to the end of term in September next year and wait for the support rate to rise,” Yosano told Reuters in an interview.

Fukuda’s support rate fell to 25 percent in a recent survey due mainly to doubts about his leadership in the face of a divided parliament, where the opposition controls the upper house and can delay laws.

“Of course, it is true that the opinion has emerged inside the party that it is impossible to revive the administration’s support rates, so if there is to be an election, it should be done under a new administration,” the 69-year-old Yosano added.

“I don’t know how far that view will spread.”

The ruling bloc loss in Sunday’s poll is all but certain to embolden opposition Democratic Party leader Ichiro Ozawa to step up efforts to force an early general election.

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