Liberal Democratic Party Secretary General Toshimitsu Motegi told reporters after the party's congress on Sunday that the results of by-elections for the upper and lower houses will directly affect Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's administration and that "the true value of the administration will be tested."
House of Representatives by-elections are planned in four constituencies: Chiba No. 5, Wakayama No. 1 and Yamaguchi Nos. 2 and 4. These constituencies favor the LDP, with a strong conservative base and opposition party candidates in disarray, but there are also some uncertainties.
Nevertheless, the LDP is poised to win all four of these constituencies, and even a single defeat could lead to a decline in the prime minister's influence within the party. Shigeru Ishiba, former secretary general of the LDP, told reporters on Sunday that "the LDP must not lose even one of the seats it held."
