Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida defied calls for a general election in the first party leaders’ debate since he came to office, which came as his support hits record lows.

Kenta Izumileader of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party, urged Kishida to seek voters’ verdict on political funding reform measures that passed parliament on Wednesday, calling them a failure. Other opposition party leaders, including Nobuyuki Baba of the Japan Innovation Party, urged Kishida to step down.