De Facto Loss of One Seat
Kishida Cabinet's Election Victory 'Emergency'
[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] In the by-elections for the House of Councillors (upper house) held on the 24th, the first since Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida took office, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) recorded one win and one loss. This House of Councillors election serves as a prelude to the House of Representatives (lower house) general election scheduled for the 31st, and the Kishida Cabinet's plan to secure victories in both by-election districts to lead to a general election win has encountered a setback.
According to Nihon Keizai and Sankei Shimbun on the 25th, the by-elections were held in Yamaguchi and Shizuoka, where LDP candidate Tsune Kitamura (66) was elected in Yamaguchi.
However, in Shizuoka, the LDP candidate Yohei Wakabayashi (49), former president of Gotemba and strongly supported by Prime Minister Kishida, was defeated by independent candidate Shinnosuke Yamazaki, resulting in the LDP recording one win and one loss. Notably, in the Shizuoka electoral district, the Japanese Communist Party candidate also participated, causing a split in the opposition vote, but Yamazaki managed to pull off an upset by defeating the ruling party candidate.
This election, the first since the launch of the Kishida Cabinet, is widely seen as a barometer for the upcoming House of Representatives general election on the 31st.
Although the LDP recorded one win and one loss in this by-election, both of these districts were previously represented by LDP members in the House of Councillors, effectively resulting in a loss of one seat and leading to criticism that the LDP suffered a defeat.
During the approximately one-year tenure of former party president and Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, the LDP was effectively defeated in all eight elections contested against the opposition.
Kyodo News interpreted, "The defeat in the Shizuoka electoral district will be a blow to Prime Minister Kishida, who had strategized to win both by-elections and carry that momentum into the general election."
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Kishida, who took office on the 4th, dissolved the House of Representatives on the 14th, one week before the expiration of its four-year term, and the general election to form a new House of Representatives will be held on the 31st.
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