ID :
147340
Mon, 10/25/2010 - 11:31
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/147340
The shortlink copeid
LDP Candidate Wins By-Election in Blow to Kan Govt
Sapporo, Oct. 24 (Jiji Press)--A veteran opposition politician
handily defeated a ruling party candidate in a House of Representatives
by-election on Sunday, dealing an additional blow to the government of Prime
Minister Naoto Kan three months after a key election setback.
In the Lower House by-election for a constituency of Japan's
northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido, former Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka
Machimura, 66, of the top opposition Liberal Democratic Party, pulled ahead
of Shigeyuki Nakamae, a 38-year-old former transport ministry bureaucrat
fielded by Kan's ruling Democratic Party of Japan, and three other
contenders.
The outcome mainly reflects voter disgust at a political funds
scandal embroiling former DPJ leader Ichiro Ozawa, who will face a forced
indictment following a ruling by a prosecution inquest panel of citizens,
analysts said.
The defeat of the DPJ candidate came after the DPJ-led ruling
coalition lost its majority in the House of Councillors, the upper chamber
of parliament, in a July election.
With the opposition camp now emboldened by the latest election
results, the Kan government is expected to face increased difficulty dealing
with a divided parliament. The government is trying to gain early approval
of a fiscal 2010 supplementary budget designed to aid the economy hard hit
by the strong yen and deflation, but the opposition camp is stepping up
calls for parliamentary testimony by Ozawa, the sandal-tainted DPJ
powerbroker.
In Sunday's election, Machimura collected 125,636 votes, against
94,135 votes for Nakamae. The three others fell far behind.
Voter turnout came to 53.48 pct, a record low for the Hokkaido
constituency and down 22.94 percentage points from the previous Lower House
election in August 2009.
Machimura, who has also served as foreign minister, capitalized on his high name recognition and public criticism of Ozawa's money scandal to reclaim the seat he lost last year.
In addition to the Ozawa affair, Nakamae, the DPJ candidate, faced voter disapproval of the Kan government's handling of a maritime incident involving Japanese and Chinese ships near disputed islands in the East China Sea.
The by-election was held to fill the vacancy left by the
resignation of Chiyomi Kobayashi, a Lower House member of the DPJ, over a campaign finance scandal earlier this year.
Machimura lost to Kobayashi in the August 2009 Lower House
election, in which the DPJ scored a landslide victory that catapulted it to power.
Although he retained his Lower House seat at the time under the
proportional representation system, Machimura relinquished the seat this month to run in the by-election.
handily defeated a ruling party candidate in a House of Representatives
by-election on Sunday, dealing an additional blow to the government of Prime
Minister Naoto Kan three months after a key election setback.
In the Lower House by-election for a constituency of Japan's
northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido, former Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka
Machimura, 66, of the top opposition Liberal Democratic Party, pulled ahead
of Shigeyuki Nakamae, a 38-year-old former transport ministry bureaucrat
fielded by Kan's ruling Democratic Party of Japan, and three other
contenders.
The outcome mainly reflects voter disgust at a political funds
scandal embroiling former DPJ leader Ichiro Ozawa, who will face a forced
indictment following a ruling by a prosecution inquest panel of citizens,
analysts said.
The defeat of the DPJ candidate came after the DPJ-led ruling
coalition lost its majority in the House of Councillors, the upper chamber
of parliament, in a July election.
With the opposition camp now emboldened by the latest election
results, the Kan government is expected to face increased difficulty dealing
with a divided parliament. The government is trying to gain early approval
of a fiscal 2010 supplementary budget designed to aid the economy hard hit
by the strong yen and deflation, but the opposition camp is stepping up
calls for parliamentary testimony by Ozawa, the sandal-tainted DPJ
powerbroker.
In Sunday's election, Machimura collected 125,636 votes, against
94,135 votes for Nakamae. The three others fell far behind.
Voter turnout came to 53.48 pct, a record low for the Hokkaido
constituency and down 22.94 percentage points from the previous Lower House
election in August 2009.
Machimura, who has also served as foreign minister, capitalized on his high name recognition and public criticism of Ozawa's money scandal to reclaim the seat he lost last year.
In addition to the Ozawa affair, Nakamae, the DPJ candidate, faced voter disapproval of the Kan government's handling of a maritime incident involving Japanese and Chinese ships near disputed islands in the East China Sea.
The by-election was held to fill the vacancy left by the
resignation of Chiyomi Kobayashi, a Lower House member of the DPJ, over a campaign finance scandal earlier this year.
Machimura lost to Kobayashi in the August 2009 Lower House
election, in which the DPJ scored a landslide victory that catapulted it to power.
Although he retained his Lower House seat at the time under the
proportional representation system, Machimura relinquished the seat this month to run in the by-election.
