Japan’s ruling party loses three seats in special election

Based on initial results and media surveys, it seems that the ruling party of Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida suffered defeat in all three seats during the parliamentary by-elections on Sunday.This is because of a big corruption scandal.

The Liberal Democratic Party lost because voters were mad about its connection to a corruption scandal that has been going on for years and has hurt Kishida’s leadership. It’s not very likely that his party will lose power because the other parties are not united.

“The results were very bad,” said LDP Secretary General Toshimitsu Motegi to reporters in Tokyo. “We are sorry for the serious consequences and will work hard to earn back the public’s trust as we keep trying to improve and solve the problems. ”
According to surveys done by NHK television, Kyodo News and other media, the liberal Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan was expected to win in Shimane, Nagasaki, and Tokyo.

CPDJ leader Kenta Izumi said the special elections were about changing the way politics work. “He said many people in the country want to share the same opinions. If the governing party doesn’t make changes quickly, he will ask for national elections to happen sooner. ”

The governing party was really shocked by the loss in Shimane prefecture. It could weaken Kishida’s power, because other party members might try to remove him and choose someone else for the next general election. This move would ruin Kishida’s plans to run for the party president again in September for another three years. He can choose when to have the election before October 2025.

Kishida’s support has dropped a lot since the corruption scandal last year. He fired some government officials and is trying to make changes, but not many people support his government anymore.

The problem is about money that was collected for the party events, but was not reported to the government. In January, 10 people, including lawmakers and their assistants, were accused of a crime.

Over 80 lawmakers from the ruling party, many of them from a group once led by the late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, have admitted to not reporting funds, which may have broken the law. The money made from long-term practice is said to have gone into secret funds that were not being watched.

In the Sunday by-elections, the LDP didn’t have their own candidates in the Tokyo and Nagasaki districts because it seemed like not many people supported the party. It worked to keep the seat in the Shimane district after the former LDP House Speaker Hiroyuki Hosoda passed away. He was connected to some suspected illegal activities, like hidden money.

Akiko Kamei, a candidate in Shimane, won against Norimasa Nishikori from LDP. She said her win sends a big message to Kishida in Japan.

She said, “I think the people were mad about LDP’s secret money problem and the fact that things in our area aren’t getting better. That’s why they supported me. ”

The final results will be known by Monday morning.