Tokyo, 9 Apr. The Japanese ruling party led by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has achieved victory in several of the key local elections that were held this Sunday in Japan, according to the first polls.
The voting centers closed this Sunday at 8:00 a.m. local time (11:00 GMT) for these elections that are held every four years and in which the governors of nine prefectures, mayors of six large cities and the seats of the assemblies of 41 are decided. prefectures and 17 cities.
In the prefecture of Hokkaido (north), the exit polls by the state chain NHK and the local news agency Kyodo suggest that Naomichi Suzuki, the candidate backed by the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) of Kishida and his coalition partner in the central government, the Buddhist Komeito.
These elections were one of the most relevant today as they were the only ones in which there was a direct confrontation between the candidate backed by the central government and the contender supported by the opposition.
In Kanagawa prefecture, south of Tokyo and the second most populous in the country, exit polls point to a sure victory for Yuji Kuroiwa, also backed by the ruling coalition and who would govern the region in this way for a second consecutive term. .
On the other hand, in the Osaka prefecture (west) it does not seem that the PLD has been able to wrest the governorship from Hirofumi Yoshimura, of the Innovation Party, a formation that was born in that region and made the leap into national politics in 2015. and is currently the fourth with the most weight in the national parliament.
The final results of the elections are expected to be known throughout the day on Monday. On April 23, another round of local elections will be held to select mayors and members of local assemblies in other Japanese municipalities, as well as five vacant seats in the national Parliament.
The results of the ruling Kishida Liberal Democratic Party in these local elections will serve as a thermometer of support for his government, which began the year with a record low of popular support, around 26% according to various polls.
Support for the Kishida Cabinet has improved in recent weeks as a result of the recent diplomatic activity of the prime minister, who will preside over the G7 summit in Hiroshima next May, as well as various initiatives presented by the Executive, among which a plan of birth support. EFE
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