Japan’s Ruling Party Wins Parliament Seat in By-Election
Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa’s party easily won a seat in Parliament’s upper house Sunday in a by-election in which the party faced little opposition.
Other recent by-elections have been closely watched for signs of how Miyazawa’s Liberal Democratic Party will do in national elections in July.
Since Miyazawa became prime minister last November, his party has lost two by-elections. In both cases, the party was hurt by scandals over alleged influence peddling or questionable political donations.
In Sunday’s by-election, the Liberal Democratic Party’s Yasu Kano, 57, was opposed only by a Communist candidate in the race in Ibaraki prefecture. She won 357,271 to 104,352, officials said. The No. 1 opposition party, the Socialists, did not field a candidate, apparently because Ibaraki is seen as a stronghold of the conservative ruling party.
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