【石破首相国会発言プレイバック】平成22年(2010)、参院選敗北の民主党に「選挙なめないでください」

At a July 2011 House of Representatives Budget Committee meeting, when he was then chairman of the LDP's Policy Research Council, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba asked then-DPJ Prime Minister Naoto Kan about the significance of the previous year's House of Councillors election, urging him, "Don't underestimate elections. They are the choice of the sovereign people." In the 2010 House of Councillors election, Prime Minister Kan (then party leader) had set the winning line as "54 seats up for re-election plus a few more," but the ruling coalition only managed 44 seats, falling short of a majority. In the House of Councillors election held on the 20th, Prime Minister Ishiba set a "must-achieve" goal of the ruling LDP and Komeito coalition winning a total of 50 seats to maintain their majority. However, they fell far short of the 66 seats up for re-election, slumping to a total of 47 seats. Even when the 75 seats not up for re-election were added, they still fell short of a majority in the House of Councillors (125 seats). On the following day, the 21st, Prime Minister Ishiba announced that he would continue as prime minister, saying, "While keenly aware of my grave responsibility, I must fulfill my responsibility as the leading party in the region to prevent politics from drifting." This decision has drawn growing criticism even from within the LDP.