Prime Minister Kishida Faces Critical By-Election Amid Slush Fund Scandal Fallout

The 3rd House of Representatives by-election, which is the first national election since the Liberal Democratic Party’s slush fund scandal came to light, has been set as an opportunity for a mid-term review of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, whose approval ratings lower cabinet. . The prime minister was behind the curve in investigating the truth behind what happened and preventing it from happening again, and the Liberal Democratic Party was pushed to the brink by losing two constituency and lose by default. With former Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga losing his unifying force in the by-election and re-election and resigning six months later, the election will be a question of the future or demise of the prime minister (Kei Ganaha, Shunsuke Inoue)

◆ “Bye” in 15 Tokyo wards and 3 Nagasaki wards

Speaking at a press conference on the 16th, LDP Secretary-General Hiroshi Kajiyama said regarding the decision to give up holding Tokyo’s 15th ward and Nagasaki’s 3rd ward, “As a ruling party, the idea may be it is original to put forward candidates. in every by-election, everyone has their own position,” he said, expressing frustration at his position. “We want to show that the Liberal Democratic Party is the only party that we can trust the future of Japan,” said Secretary-General Toshimitsu Mogi, but the party cannot even offer options for trusting the future.

It has been difficult to find a replacement for Tokyo’s 15th ward and Nagasaki’s 3rd ward, as their previous positions were accused of violating the Public Elections Act and the Political Funds Control Act, respectively, and they resigned. Shimane 1st Ward is a conservative district where former Speaker of the House of Representatives Hiroyuki Hosoda, who died last November, held the seat for more than 30 years, and an all-out war will be staged by ‘ search for approved candidates.

◆ Secret money scandal, headlines as a result of the Unification Church case

However, Mr Hosoda was the vice-chairman of Abe’s group, which led to arrests in connection with the slush fund scandal, so politics and money will remain the biggest points of contention. There are also new memories of rumors of close ties with the Family Alliance for Peace and World Unification (formerly the Unification Church), and a party official says, “The situation is difficult, making it difficult to campaign.’ ‘

Prime Minister Kishida speaking to Deputy Governor Aso (right) at a plenary session of the House of Representatives on the 16th.

There are many cases where the results of by-elections mean that the prime minister resigns. Recently, former Prime Minister Suga was criticized for his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, and lost the second by-election for the House of Representatives and re-election for the House of Councilors in April 2021. he had a tough time in the Tokyo metropolitan assembly election in July, his favorite candidate lost in the Yokohama mayoral race in August, and he had to drop his presidential bid in September.

◆ After taking office, he has been winning, but…

The Prime Minister has won 7 and lost 3 in the 10 by-elections since taking office in October 2021, but this time there is a strong wind due to the question of “politics and money”. He has been slow to investigate the truth behind the slush money incident, and he has been unable to show leadership in the debate over the revision of the Political Funds Management Act to prevent a repeat.

The government’s trust in politics is growing because the party has only taken half-hearted measures, such as closing themselves off from the party’s punishment. “If we lose in Ward Shimane 1, we will be lame ducks,” said a former cabinet minister, and some are beginning to point out that the administration may come to a standstill.

◆ I do not see any kind of joint struggle between the opposition parties.

The opposition parties are set to win in three by-elections and push the prime minister into a corner. The Constitutional Democratic Party, the main opposition party, fielded qualified candidates in three constituencies. The Communist Party has withdrawn its application in the 15 wards in Tokyo and is providing support, and will support Ritsumei in the 1st ward of Shimane and the 3rd ward of Nagasaki.

However, the opposition party is not monolithic, and in the third ward of Nagasaki, Ritmin and Nippon Ishin no Kai conflict. The 15th ward in Tokyo is expected to be a fierce battle between Ishin and other opposition parties, including independent candidates proposed by the Democratic Party of Japan, and no consensus can be reached. It is not clear how the opposition parties will fight together to seize power in the next House of Representatives election.

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