An opposition-backed independent and a Liberal Democratic Party candidate were the winners in Sunday's House of Councillors by-elections, the first national elections since the inauguration of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's administration.
Independent Shinnosuke Yamazaki, 40, was elected for the first time from the Shizuoka constituency, backed by the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and the Democratic Party for the People. Former LDP upper house member Tsuneo Kitamura, 66, was supported by Komeito and was elected from the Yamaguchi constituency.
With voting and ballot-counting for the House of Representatives election to take place this Sunday, the by-elections were a test for the newly inaugurated Kishida administration and the government's policies on COVID-19 control and the economy. The ruling parties had aimed to win both races, and are now rushing to reorganize their strategy for the lower house election.
"Unfortunately, we fell short in Shizuoka," LDP Election Strategy Committee Chairperson Toshiaki Endo told reporters at party headquarters Sunday night. "We accept the result of one win and one loss, and will work together again toward the lower house election to achieve the best possible outcome."
The Shizuoka by-election was held after LDP politician Shigeki Iwai, a former state minister of land, infrastructure, transport and tourism, resigned from the upper house to run for Shizuoka governor in June.
Yamazaki waged a fierce battle against 49-year-old LDP rookie Yohei Wakabayashi, who was backed by Komeito. Opposition parties also fielded Japanese Communist Party member Chika Suzuki, 50, unable to agree on a joint candidate.
Nevertheless, Yamazaki earned steady support from a wide range of people including non-affiliated voters, with the backing of Gov. Heita Kawakatsu, who has won four gubernatorial elections. CDPJ leader Yukio Edano and DPFP head Yuichiro Tamaki gave speeches at the same venue Friday trying to consolidate support from their backers.
Kishida visited Shizuoka Prefecture twice to support Wakabayashi, and other LDP executives, including Secretary General Akira Amari, also traveled there. But the party's intense efforts did not pay off.
"We wanted to gain momentum for the lower house election by winning the two races in Shizuoka and Yamaguchi, but we'll have to make a fresh start," a senior LDP member said.
The Yamaguchi by-election was held following the resignation of Yoshimasa Hayashi, a former minister of education, culture, sports, science and technology, who left the upper house to run for the Yamaguchi No. 3 Constituency of the lower house.
Kitamura campaigned with support from local assembly members and many friendly groups. Backed by former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, he secured votes from the LDP and Komeito's support bases and also attracted non-affiliated voters to win in a landslide.
Voter turnout was 45.57% in Shizuoka and 36.54% in Yamaguchi.
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
