2024 Japanese by-elections explained

On April 28, 2024, by-elections in Japan were held in order to fill vacancies in the National Diet of Japan.[1] In the October 27 slot, there will be (as of August 16) at least one national by-election, for the Iwate senate seat in the 2022 class after incumbent Megumi Hirose (LDP→independent) has resigned.[2]

Summary

ConstituencyHouseOutgoing MPBefore partyReasonMember electedAfter party
Nagasaki 3rd districtHouse of RepresentativesYaichi TanigawaIndependentResigned on 24 January 2024[3] [4] Katsuhiko YamadaCDP
Shimane 1st districtHouse of RepresentativesHiroyuki HosodaLDPDied on 10 November 2023[5] Akiko Kamei
Tokyo 15th districtHouse of RepresentativesMito KakizawaIndependentResigned on 1 February 2024[6] Natsumi Sakai

Elections

Tokyo 15th district

Mito Kakizawa, who has run for and been elected (proportionally in 2009 and 2021) in every election since 2009, was indicted for illegal financing during a Tokyo mayoral election. He resigned soon after, leaving the seat open for a by-election. Four political parties have nominated candidates, all of which are listed below. The field grew to seven candidates in late March.

Additionally, three other people have been rumored, or have planned previously, to run.

The LDP were resistant to field a candidate. The LDP had previously began searching for a candidate, but paused, stating that "adjustments were needed." It also stated its expectation in support from Yuriko Koike and Komeito. The CDP has stated interest in fielding a candidate, and did so in late March, nominating Natsumi Sakai.[19] Eventually, on 2 April, party secretary Toshimitsu Motegi announced that it would not field a candidate, instead endorsing Hirotada Ototake, citing the slush fund scandal as potentially wounding the chance of LDP candidates.[20] With the LDP refusing to endorse a candidate, they have effectively lost the by-election by default. Polling has shown a slight, but consistent, CDP lead, with Kanazawa finishing second and Ototake finishing third. The candidate of Koike finishing third could signal a decline in her influence.

Results and analysis

Sakai won the election with 28.98% of the vote, a clear plurality of over ten points against her closest opponent, Genki Sudo, who finished second in what was considered a somewhat surprising result for him. He was only backed by Reiwa Shinsengumi and its party leader, Taro Yamamoto.[21] The Conservative Party of Japan also captured a strong percentage of the vote for its first showing in an election, with its candidate placing above the recommended Tomin First no Kai candidate for the fourth spot. Sakai's victory was mainly reasoned on her strong support from the CDP, Japanese Communist Party, and independents in the area.[22]

The result was considered disappointing for Nippon Ishin no Kai, which wished to finish at least second. Party leader Nobuyuki Baba stated "It's a very difficult situation to win in single-seat constituencies outside of Kansai."[23]

A large reason for the severe loss of Hirotada Ototake, who was backed by a number of forces (including influential Governor Yuriko Koikes local force and the Democratic Party for the People) was chalked up to the divide in governmental forces, particularly with Komeito and local LDP forces. Ototake had gone through a myriad of scandals (including a revelation that he had an affair), and, furthermore, had refused to back the LDP in the Koto mayoral election which had occurred late last year, which also saw a split between Koike and the LDP. Additionally, Komeito had large reservations, mainly circled around the fact they had not been consulted in his recommendation. Neither of the parties ended up recommending him, with Komeito letting its members freely vote.[22]

The result also led to the resignation of the DPP regional branch chief.[23]

Shimane 1st district

Hiroyuki Hosoda, who served as Speaker of the House of Representatives, announced his intention to resign due to health problems, and stepped down in September. He died a little over a month later. He has represented the district since the first introduction of FPTP districts in 1996, and previously served Shimane in a multimember district starting from 1990. Shimane is viewed as an LDP stronghold.[24] Two candidates have registered for the by-election.

Additionally, there was two other candidates who have since dropped out, or did not make the ballot.

Where as Shimane is usually extremely loyal to the LDP brand, with neither of its two seats having elected a single opposition member since the electoral reform took place in 1996, the LDPs power in the prefecture has waned due to extreme controversy faced by Hiroyuki Hosoda, who is alleged to have been involved in sexual harassment and to have also dealt with the Unification Church.[24]

Furthermore, with the death of Noboru Takeshita and Wataru Takeshita, who both held strong sway over the politics inside the prefecture, the LDP has struggled to deal with the consequences. The CDP also believe in the potential seat as a flip, and believe it to serve as a bellwether for the next general election; Kenta Izumi, Katsuya Okada and Yukio Edano have traveled to the district to drum up support Kamei's candidacy.[24] LDP party secretary Toshimitsu Motegi has stated that it will not run a candidate in either of the two other by-elections occurring concurrently, citing its want to focus on the contest in the district.[20] Polling has shown a narrow, but consistent, lead in favor of Kamei.

Results and analysis

Despite it being the only district where the LDP had chosen to run a candidate, Kamei won with 58.82% of the vote, over fifteen points ahead of Nishikori. There were a large number of reasons given for the defeat, mainly that the 2023–2024 Japanese slush fund scandal, which previous representative Hiroyuki Hosoda, who was head of the Seiwa Seisaku Kenkyūkai for a seven years, was thought to possibly be involved in.[31]

Another reason for the loss was chalked up to a disconnect between two warring factions inside the LDP branch of the prefecture, mainly those centered around the former representative, Hosoda, and the other focused on former Prime Minister of Japan and his family, Noboru Takeshita and Wataru Takeshita. The two factions failed to properly coordinate on a campaign, with the Takeshita group attempting to distance themselves from Hosoda while the Hosoda faction continued to bring him up. One supporter of the Takeshita faction said "If you want support from the people of the prefecture, you shouldn't bring up Hosoda. What are you thinking?"[31]

Kamei was also able to capture a secure amount of opposition support as well as independents (exit polls said she had won around 70% of independents exactly), and even captured nearly 30% of LDP voters. The LDP voter base also dwindled in general; people who listed the LDP as their main party had gone down to 37%, compared to 50% in 2021. The result made it the first time ever that the opposition had won a seat in Shimane since the introduction of FPTP districts.[31]

Nagasaki 3rd district

Yaichi Tanigawa, who represented the district from 2003 onward (with exception for 2009, where he was elected proportionally), was indicted by Tokyo Police for receiving over ¥40 million in kickbacks from the Seiwa Seisaku Kenkyūkai. He resigned on 19 January, and left the LDP.[3]

So far, two candidates have been announced.

The LDP has yet to field a candidate. There has been controversy inside the party on if to field one or not; Nagasaki 3rd is set to be eliminated at the next election due to reapportionment of districts, and Tanigawa's scandal has severely damaged the image of the party inside the district. Chairman of the Nagasaki Prefectural Federation, Yuichiro Koga, and Secretary-General of the Liberal Democratic Party Toshimitsu Motegi have met on several occasions to discuss the possibility of sitting out the election, with Motegi reportedly in support of sitting out and Koga willing to follow the party line. It has been reported that Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has been reluctant to side with Motegi, due to murmurs of Motegi wanting to take down Kishida and his faction going into the future. The party has yet to make an official statement.[37] [38] [39] Party secretary Toshimitsu Motegi confirmed that it would not run a candidate, citing the fact the district would be eliminated, and also due to the wish to focus on the contest in Shimane 1st.[20] Polling is limited due to the odd nature surrounding the district, but Yamada has been shown as leading over Inoue.

Results and analysis

Yamada won the election with 68.36% of the vote. Voter turnout was incredibly low, at just 35.45%. Analysis is generally hard to gather, but suggestion has been put forward that Ishin has faced continuous difficulties in its goal to pass the CDP as primary leader of the opposition. Baba stated that he would continue not to cooperate with the CDP or any other opposition forces.[40]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 3 lower house by-elections to be held on April 28 . kyodonews . Kyodo News . 25 March 2024.
  2. [Nihon Keizai Shimbun]
  3. News: 19 January 2024 . Prosecutors indict several LDP faction members over funds scandal . 20 January 2024 . Kyodo News.
  4. Web site: Ex-LDP member Tanigawa resigns as lawmaker amid funds scandal . KYODO NEWS . 28 April 2024.
  5. Web site: LDP heavyweight Hiroyuki Hosoda dies month after quitting as house speaker . Kyodo News . 28 April 2024.
  6. Web site: Ex-LDP member quits as lawmaker amid alleged election law violation . kyodonews . Kyodo News . 25 March 2024.
  7. Web site: 維新が柿沢未途氏辞職に伴う衆院東京15区補選に金沢結衣氏を擁立 33歳の元会社員 . sankei . February 2024 . Sankei Shimbun.
  8. Web site: 日本保守党、飯山陽氏を衆院補選で擁立へ 東京15区 . sankei . Sankei Shimbun . 25 March 2024.
  9. Web site: 参政党、衆院東京15区補選に新顔・吉川氏擁立へ . asahi . 15 March 2024 . Asahi Shimbun . 25 March 2024.
  10. Web site: 無罪なら自民党に公認申請へ 秋元司被告が衆院東京15区補選への出馬表明 22日にIR汚職で控訴審判決 . tokyo-np . Tokyo Web . 25 March 2024.
  11. Web site: 立民、衆院東京15区補選に元江東区議の酒井菜摘氏擁立で調整 共産などと一本化検討 . 29 March 2024 . Sankei Shimbun . 30 March 2024.
  12. Web site: 東京15区補選、自民不戦敗 国民は乙武氏推薦 . www.jiji.com . 12 April 2024 . Jiji Press . 13 April 2024.
  13. Web site: 東京15区補選で"小池印"にすがる自公…都ファ擁立の乙武洋匡氏に相乗りでも現場は脱力気味 . 30 March 2024 . Nikkan Gendei . 30 March 2024.
  14. Web site: 僕の地元である江東区、東京15区の補選に出馬をすることを決意しました.
  15. Web site: 衆議院東京15区補欠選挙2024年 9人の立候補者 選挙戦の訴え 選挙区の江東区では . NHK . 26 April 2024.
  16. Web site: Morioka . Kohei . 補選出馬問われた小池氏「都政に邁進」それでも自民に広がる戦々恐々 . Asahi Digital . 8 March 2024 . Asahi Shimbun . 25 March 2024.
  17. Web site: 「法令違反の恐れ」国民民主、衆院東京15区補選の公認内定を取り消し . sankei . 25 February 2024 . Sankei Shimbun . 25 March 2024.
  18. Web site: 共産、東京15区補選に新人の小堤東氏 党地区委員長 野党擁立決定3人目 . sankei . 13 February 2024 . Sankei Shimbun . 25 March 2024.
  19. Web site: 自民党本部、東京都連の候補者公募に異例の「待った」…公明と小池百合子氏の支援に期待 . yomiuri . 25 February 2024 . Yomiuri Shimbun . 25 March 2024.
  20. Web site: 自民、東京・長崎で擁立見送り 裏金事件影響、乙武氏推薦へ . nordot . 2 April 2024 . Kyodo News . 2 April 2024.
  21. Web site: 須藤元気氏 山本太郎氏が明かした「野党統一候補案」を蹴った理由を初激白! . Tokyo Sports . 29 April 2024.
  22. Web site: 衆院東京15区補選 立民 酒井菜摘が勝利 自民不在の「乱戦」は . NHK . 29 April 2024.
  23. Web site: 維新・馬場代表、内閣不信任案への賛成を示唆 . Nikkei . 29 April 2024.
  24. Web site: Hosoda name now a 'liability' for LDP in Shimane election . asahi . Asahi Shimbun . 25 March 2024.
  25. Web site: 衆院島根1区補選 自民県連が元中国財務局長の擁立を決定 . mainichi . Mainichi Shimbun . 26 March 2024.
  26. Web site: 衆院島根1区補欠選挙党公認内定者に亀井亜紀子さんを決定 . cdp-japan . 9 January 2024 . CDP . 26 March 2024.
  27. Web site: 衆院島根1区補選 亀井氏を支援 国民島根 . sanin-chuo . 28 January 2024 . 26 March 2024.
  28. Web site: 社民党、立憲民主党候補を支援 衆院島根1区補選 . nikkei . 22 March 2024 . 26 March 2024.
  29. Web site: Omura . Jiro . 衆院島根1区補選で共産が擁立候補を取り下げ 立憲候補を自主支援へ衆院島根1区補選で共産が擁立候補を取り下げ 立憲候補を自主支援へ . asahi . 18 March 2024 . Asahi Shimbun . 26 March 2024.
  30. Web site: 衆院島根1区補選、山口県出身の佐々木氏が立候補表明 . sanin . 29 February 2024 . 26 March 2024.
  31. Web site: 島根1区 立民の亀井亜紀子が屈指の自民王国で勝利 衆院補選 . NHK . 29 April 2024.
  32. Web site: 立民、長崎3区補選に比例現職の山田勝彦氏 宮城3区は元アナウンサーの柳沢剛氏 . sankei . 30 January 2024 . Sankei Shimbun . 26 March 2024.
  33. Web site: 衆院3区補選 立憲・山田氏を「自主的に支援」 共産・県委員会 /長崎 . mainichi . Mainichi Shimbun . 26 March 2024.
  34. Web site: 社民党、比例東北に新人 次期衆院選 . nikkei . 21 February 2024 . 26 March 2024.
  35. Web site: 国民民主、4月の衆院島根1区・長崎3区補選は立民候補支援 東京15区は対応未定 . sankei . 6 March 2024 . Sankei Shimbun.
  36. Web site: 維新が4月の衆院長崎補選に候補を擁立 塾経営の40歳男性、野党は立民も . sankei . 7 February 2024 . Sankei Shimbun . 26 March 2024.
  37. Web site: 自民、長崎で不戦敗論強まる 東京も弱気、ダメージ軽減狙い―衆院補選 . jiji . 11 March 2024 . Jiji Press . 26 March 2024.
  38. Web site: 衆院長崎3区補選 自民の候補擁立見送り調整に支持者戸惑い 長崎県連「協議中」と強調 . nagasaki-np . 28 February 2024 . Nagasaki Newspaper . 26 March 2024.
  39. Web site: 衆院長崎3区補選 "不戦敗"調整の自民、結論示されず地元困惑 「主体性ない」県連執行部批判も . nagasaki-np . 12 March 2024 . Nagasaki Newspaper . 26 March 2024.
  40. Web site: 「立民たたきつぶす」と言っていた維新・馬場代表「まだ関西以外の小選挙区で勝つことは厳しい」 . Yomiuri . 29 April 2024.