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May 1, 2021
PYEONGTAEK, SOUTH KOREA – Last weekend, opposition parties swept three Diet seat elections in what many are calling a blow to Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and a bellwether for things to come. In principle, those characterizations are correct, but not in the way some may think.
The easy assumption to make is that the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s inability to win any seats in the by-elections reflects a growing disdain towards the Suga administration among the ill-defined “Japanese public.” Some will argue that what happened on Sunday represents a shifting political landscape where the opposition may have a fighting chance in the forthcoming Lower House election. However prevalent those assertions may be in the media space, it does not mean they are accurate.
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga answers questions from reporters on April 26 about the results of three Diet elections held the previous day. (Koichi Ueda)
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party suffered defeats in all three parliamentary elections held on April 25, the first national-level polls since Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga took office in September.
In particular, the LDP’s loss of the Upper House re-election in Hiroshima Prefecture, which was held in the wake of an unprecedented vote-buying scandal, underscored harsh public criticism of money politics.
Suga should take the message from voters seriously and make a sweeping review of his governing approach.
TOKYO - Japan s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) suffered a stunning setback in three by-elections on Sunday (April 25), in what was Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga s first parliamentary electoral test since taking office in September last year.
The by-elections were held to fill one Lower House seat in Hokkaido and two Upper House seats in Hiroshima and Nagano. All three seats – including the LDP stronghold of Hiroshima that the party had seen as its best bet of victory – were won by candidates supported by the main opposition party, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDP).
Political watchers say the polls serve as a bellwether for Mr Suga s political fortunes with two make-or-break elections in the coming months. Mr Suga s tenure as LDP president - and hence Prime Minister - will expire on Sept 30 and rivals may smell blood if his standing as a leader comes into question.
Candidates backed by the Opposition parties won all three parliamentary elections, the results showed on Monday, dealing with a severe blow to Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga.The outcomes of Sunday s races, the first since Suga was inaugurated in .