Kishida rules out snap poll after LDP wins big in Sunday by-elections
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Loading... - Nabil Sung
- 28 Apr 2023
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Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party received a welcome boost Sunday night as four of five LDP-affiliated or -supported candidates won key by-elections — though Kishida poured cold water on talk of a snap poll.
Although the LDP fared better than predicted, a close look at the election numbers shows that some victories were narrow, and that public confidence in the Kishida administration may not be as strong as the final results would suggest.
The four Lower House elections and one Upper House contest were seen as crucial tests of Kishida’s popularity. There had been talk that he might call a snap election sometime after the Group of Seven leaders meeting in the city of Hiroshima next month.
The prime minister, however, said Monday morning that he wasn’t thinking about dissolving the Lower House.
“As we have to carry out important policies one by one, I am not considering (a Lower House) dissolution and a general election at the moment,” Kishida told reporters at the Prime Minister’s Office in Tokyo.
The next elections for the Lower and Upper Houses do not have to take place until 2025. The newly elected members will join the current session of parliament, which ends on June 21.
On Sunday, in the Chiba No. 5 district, the LDP’s Arfiya Eri beat six opposition candidates, including Kentaro Yazaki of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDP). In the Oita Prefecture Upper House contest, Aki Shirasaka, an LDP-endorsed entrepreneur, beat Tadatomo Yoshida, a former CDP Upper House lawmaker.
LDP candidates also took both by-elections in Yamaguchi Prefecture. In the prefecture’s No. 4 district, Shinji Yoshida won the race to fill late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s seat, with an easy victory over Yoshifu Arita of the CDP. In the No. 2 district, Nobuchiyo Kishi beat veteran opposition lawmaker Hideo Hiraoka. Kishi is the son of former Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi, who stepped down due to illness and is also the brother of Abe. Read More…
