Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s governing party, stung by an extensive slush funds scandal, appeared to have lost all three seats in Sunday’s by-elections.
Japan s ruling party loses all 3 seats in special vote mercurynews.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from mercurynews.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The 9.0 magnitude quake and tsunami that ravaged parts of Japan's northeastern coast on March 11, 2011 killed about 20,000 people and drove thousands from their homes in the prefectures of Miyagi, Iwate and Fukushima.
Executions are carried out in high secrecy in Japan, where prisoners are not informed of their fate until the morning they are hanged. Since 2007, Japan has begun disclosing the names of those executed and some details of their crimes, but disclosures are still limited.
SLIM, which was aiming to hit a very small target, is a lightweight spacecraft about the size of a passenger vehicle. It was using "pinpoint landing" technology that promises far greater control than any previous moon landing.