The loss of three parliamentary seats by Japan's ruling conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) on Sunday, April 28, has further weakened the unpopular prime minister, Fumio Kishida, whose future as head of government looks very much in doubt. Held in Shimane, Nagasaki and Tokyo, the three legislative by-elections were won by the Constitutional Democratic Party (PDC, progressive), the main opposition party.
"The results were extremely severe," said LDP Secretary General Toshimitsu Motegi. "We humbly accept the severe results, and we will do our utmost to regain the trust from the public as we continue our effort to reform and tackle the challenges." Conversely, PDC leader Kenta Izumi was keen to capitalize on the favorable momentum and said he was ready to "push for early legislative elections if the LDP does not quickly carry out the necessary transformations."
The ruling party's failures confirm the slump in which it has been stuck for almost two years. The 2022 revelations of the links between 179 Liberal Democrat members of parliament and the controversial Unification Church (the Moon sect) had already weakened the party. The slush fund scandal of 2023, which forced the resignation of four ministers and implicated 85 of its MPs, dealt a further blow.
The most bitter defeat for the LDP came in Shimane Prefecture, a historic conservative stronghold. Norimasa Nishikori, a former Ministry of Finance official, had the tough task of keeping the seat in the party following the death in November 2023 of Hiroyuki Hosoda (1944-2023), former president of the House of Representatives, the lower house of the National Diet. Hosoda succeeded his father as head of the constituency in 1990. Shimane was also the home of former prime minister Noboru Takeshita (1924-2000), a major figure in the LDP who exerted a strong influence on Japanese politics.
However, Nishikori was defeated by Akiko Kamei. The daughter and niece of members of parliament, this environmentalist and anti-nuclear activist was running with the support of the PDC. Kamei attributed her victory to "the voters' anger over LDP's slush funds problem and the lack of improvement in daily lives in the prefecture. This election in a 'conservative kingdom' is a strong message to the Kishida administration." Public broadcaster NHK put the share of traditional LDP supporters who voted for Kamei at 30%.
In Tokyo and Nagasaki, the LDP decided not to field candidates. Voting was organized to replace Liberal-Democrat elected officials who had to resign because of their business dealings. In Nagasaki, Yaichi Tanigawa was indicted in January for illegally receiving 43 million yen (€254,000) from the party's slush funds. In the capital, Mito Kakizawa was given a two-year suspended prison sentence in March in a vote-buying case in the Koto district.
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