The ruling party in Japan, led by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, emerged victorious in several significant local elections held on Sunday. One of the wins was in Hokkaido Prefecture, where Naomichi Suzuki, the candidate backed by Kishida’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the Buddhist Komeito, managed to revalidate his position as governor. Meanwhile, in Oita prefecture, LDP-supported Kiichiro Sato won a close battle against Kiyoshi Adachi of the opposition Democratic Constitutional Party. In Kanagawa prefecture, Yuji Kuroiwa backed by the ruling coalition, won another term as leader. However, the LDP failed to take the governor’s post in Osaka prefecture from Hirofumi Yoshimura of the Innovation Party. Another round of local elections is set to be held on April 23. The results of the Kishida Liberal Democratic Party in these elections reflect the level of support for their government, which started the year with a 26% approval rating. However, support for the Kishida Cabinet has improved in recent weeks due to the prime minister’s diplomatic activities and several initiatives presented by the executive, such as a plan for birth support.
Japan’s ruling party led by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has won several of the “key” local elections held in Japan on Sunday.
Some of the victories include Hokkaido Prefecture (north), where managed to revalidate his position as governor Naomichi Suzukithe candidate backed by Kishida’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and his coalition partner in the central government, the Buddhist Komeito.
“Taking the voices of encouragement, including criticism, we will continue to take measures for the second part of these local unified elections,” Kishida told the press on Monday, who did not enter to assess the results.
In Oita prefecture, southern Japan, Kiichiro Sato, supported by the LDP, and Kiyoshi Adachi, of the opposition Democratic Constitutional Party, had a close battle, but Sato ultimately prevailed.
In Kanagawa prefecture, south of Tokyo and the second most populous in the country, took the win win Yuji Kuroiwaalso backed by the ruling coalition and who will rule the region for a second consecutive term.
Instead, in Osaka prefecture (west) the PLD could not wrest the post of governor from Hirofumi Yoshimurafrom the Innovation Party, a formation that was born in that region and made the leap into national politics in 2015 and is currently the fourth with the most weight in the national parliament.
In Nara, LDP-backed Sho Hiraki was defeated by former city mayor Makoto Yamashita, also from the Innovation Party, which has a strong presence in the Kansai region.
On April 23, another round of local elections will be held to select mayors and members of local assemblies in other Japanese municipalities, as well as five vacant seats in the national Parliament.
The ruler’s results Kishida Liberal Democratic Party in these local elections they serve as a thermometer of support for their government, which began the year with a record low of popular support, around 26% according to various surveys.
Support for the Kishida Cabinet has improved in recent weeks as a result of the recent diplomatic activity of the prime minister, who will preside over the G7 summit in Hiroshima next May, as well as various initiatives presented by the Executive, among which a plan of birth support.
Overall, the recent local elections in Japan have been a mixed bag of results for the ruling coalition led by Prime Minister Kishida. While they managed to secure some key victories in Hokkaido and Kanagawa prefectures, they faced defeats in Osaka and Nara. Nevertheless, these results serve as an important gauge of public support for the government, which has faced a record low in popularity at the start of the year. Kishida has been working to improve his cabinet’s standing through recent diplomatic activity and initiatives such as birth support plans. As the country prepares for another round of local elections and the selection of vacant seats in Parliament, all eyes will be on how the ruling party manages to fare.