Japan: Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has won key local elections in the first big electoral test for Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. The electoral win was considered significant to the LDP after damaging revelations emerged about the party’s ties to the Unification Church.

LDP candidates triumphed in governor elections in prefectures from Hokkaido in the country’s north to Oita in the south-west.

The elections further witnessed Nippon Ishin no Kai (the Japan Innovation Party) extend its influence outside its home turf of Osaka as the rightwing populists tried to establish themselves as a national political force.

The LDP has endured months of criticism over its connections to the Unification Church, often referred to as the Moonies, after Mr. Shinzo Abe’s assassination in 2022.

The LDP took six of the governor races and will be particularly pleased to have won in Hokkaido, where the left-of-centre Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan has traditionally been strong, as well as more than half of the 2,260 prefectural assembly seats being contested.

Voters in other areas, including Tokyo, go to the polls on April 23, when there will also be five parliamentary byelections.

Mr. Kishida appeared to have tapped into public concern over China’s military activity in the region and the potential for conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The local elections are also seen as crucial for the PM’s plans to address the cost of living crisis and the low birthrate.

In western Japan, Mr. Hirofumi Yoshimura won a second term as governor of Osaka, while fellow Ishin candidate Mr. Hideyuki Yokoyama won the city’s election for mayor. Mr. Yoshimura’s re-election is expected to strengthen his case for Osaka to host Japan’s first casino, plans for which have yet to receive government approval.

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