Apr 26, 2021
OSAKA – Sunday’s triple victory by opposition-backed candidates in Hokkaido, Nagano and Hiroshima by-elections had been predicted by local media before the polls closed and may have little immediate impact on the national political landscape.
But the Hiroshima loss in particular could spell trouble for Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and the ruling parties in the coming weeks as they look to boost their popularity ahead of a general election, which must be held before October.
“Regarding yesterday’s elections, I humbly accept the judgment of voters,” Suga said Monday morning.
In the Hiroshima Upper House race, Haruko Miyaguchi, a 45-year-old former broadcaster backed by the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDP), the Democratic Party for the People (DPP) and the Social Democratic Party (SDP), beat Hidenori Nishita, a 39-year-old former trade ministry official endorsed by the Liberal Democratic Party and backed by Komeito. She got 370,860 vote
Punch Newspapers
Sections
Friday Olokor, Abuja
A Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday awarded the N10.6m damages against the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation for unlawfully blocking part of the highway in front of its Corporate Headquarters in Abuja which led to a motor accident.
The amount was awarded in favour of a veteran journalist, His Royal Highness, Eze Geo Anika, whose Peugeot 406 with registration number, DP 41 EKY, was damaged in 2012 as a result of the unlawful blockage.
The accident happened before the retirement of Anika, former judicial editor of the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria, now the monarch of Ata Kingdom in the Ikeduru Local Government Area of Imo State.