Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Monday said his party must focus on delivering for voters to guarantee victory in the upcoming national and local elections, a day after the ruling camp won key gubernatorial races.
"We have to continue bracing ourselves" for a challenge while listening to voices of encouragement and hope for the Liberal Democratic Party and the ruling coalition including its junior partner Komeito, Kishida told reporters at his office.
In gubernatorial races in Japan's northernmost main island of Hokkaido and southwestern prefecture of Oita on Sunday, candidates fielded by the LDP, headed by Kishida, were victorious.
The results reflected Kishida's efforts to bolster the approval ratings of his Cabinet with achievements on the diplomatic stage before he hosts a Group of Seven summit in May in his constituency of Hiroshima, political pundits said.
LDP candidates, however, lost races to candidates endorsed by the Japan Innovation Party in the western prefectures of Osaka and Nara, in which the opposition party has a strong foothold.
Along with nine gubernatorial elections, mayoral races in six major cities and local assembly polls in 41 prefectures and 17 big cities were also held on Sunday as part of the first round of quadrennial unified local elections.
In the 41 prefectural assembly races, the LDP won 1,153 of the 2,260 seats up for grabs, on a percentage basis on par with its performance in the previous polls in 2019. The Japan Innovation Party more than doubled its seats in the latest elections from 57 in 2019 to 124 on Sunday, final tallies showed.
The second round of the local polls, held every four years to cut administrative costs and raise voter turnout, will be conducted on April 23 to select mayors and assembly members in other municipalities across Japan.
By-elections for five vacant seats in parliament are also scheduled to be held on the same day.
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