PM's LDP Performs Well In Local Polls, Could Spur Snap Election Call

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) performed relatively well in the 9 April local and gubernatorial elections. There is now speculation that on the back of the better-than-expected results Kishida could seek an early general election to capitalise on the success. The next election to the House of Representatives is not due until October 2025 at the latest.

• The LDP's strong results came in spite of both opinion polling for the LDP and Kishida's approval ratings remaining in the doldrums. The impact of high inflation on household finances, combined with broad public disapproval of the links between a large number of LDP lawmakers and the controversial Unification Church, had seemingly seen support drift away from the governing party.
• However, the poor polling did not translate into poor election results, with the LDP winning six of the nine prefectural governorships on offer.
• The LDP also secured over half of the 2,260 prefectural assembly seats up for grabs. Winning the governorship of the northern prefecture of Hokkaido, historically a strong area for the opposition centre-left Constitutional Democratic Party, is a notable boon for the LDP.