Photo/Illutration Voters listen to a candidate vying for a seat in the Lower House by-election in Matsue, Shimane Prefecture, on April 27. (Jun Ueda)

Voting got under way April 28 in three Lower House by-elections that offer the first chance to pass judgment on the Kishida administration’s handling of a damaging slush fund scandal involving the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.

The three seats up for grabs were all held by the LDP before they fell vacant. They are for the Shimane No. 1 district, the Nagasaki No. 3 district and the Tokyo No. 15 district.

The by-elections are the first national elections since scandal involving LDP factions came to light late last year.

Attention is focused on the Shimane No. 1 district, which includes prefectural capital of Matsue, as the candidates fielded by the LDP and the opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan are tagged in a one-on-one battle.

The results are expected to influence Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s strategy for dissolving the Lower House for a snap election.

On April 27, the last day of the election campaign, Kishida, who is also LDP president, and Kenta Izumi, leader of the CDP, went to Shimane in support for their candidates.

The by-election was called following the death of Hiroyuki Hosoda, the former speaker of the Lower House, who was elected 11 times on the LDP ticket. The LDP fielded Norimasa Nishikori, 55, a former Finance Ministry bureaucrat. Komeito, the junior coalition partner, also endorsed him.

Kishida hastily made a second visit to the constituency to help Nishikori catch up with the opposition candidate, who was leading in media surveys.

“I would like you to help us pull off a major upset win,” Kishida implored voters during a speech on a street in Matsue. “I hope victory in Shimane will add momentum to efforts to reform the LDP.”

The CDP fielded Akiko Kamei, 58, a former Lower House member.

On April 27, Izumi also delivered a speech in Matsue.

“Even in the Shimane No. 1 district, which is said to be a conservative stronghold, there are voices saying that they will no longer tolerate LDP-led politics,” he said. “Let’s settle things and move forward with political reforms.”

The LDP did not field candidates in the Tokyo No. 15 and the Nagasaki No. 3 districts.

In the Tokyo No. 15 district that covers Koto Ward, nine candidates are vying for the seat vacated by Mito Kakizawa, a former LDP member found guilty of violating the Public Offices Election Law in the ward mayor election.

The CDP and Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Innovation Party) fielded their own candidates, while the Democratic Party of Japan endorsed an independent candidate supported by Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike.

The by-election in the Nagasaki No. 3 district, which includes Sasebo, stemmed from the resignation of Yaichi Tanigawa after he received a summary order to pay a fine of 1 million yen ($6,320) over his involvement in the Abe faction’s slush fund case.

Two candidates from the CDP and Nippon Ishin parties are running for the seat.

(This article was written by Shinobu Konno and Kenji Izawa.)

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