TOKYO (Reuters) – Candidates of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s ruling party were projected to win at least two of five parliamentary seats up for grabs on Sunday, domestic media said, in what is likely to be seen as a sign of support for the premier.
The closely watched contests came eight days after Kishida escaped an apparent attack during an outdoor speech for one of the races, an incident that revived memories of the assassination of former premier Shinzo Abe at an election campaign event in July.
Nobuchiyo Kishi, the eldest son of former defence minister Nobuo Kishi, was projected to win a seat for the lower house of Japan’s parliament in southwestern Yamaguchi prefecture, public broadcaster NHK and other media outlets reported.
Also in Yamaguchi, another candidate of Kishida’s Liberal Democratic Party was projected to win a lower house seat in the district that used to be held by Abe, the reports said.
There has been speculation that Kishida, who is hosting a Group of Seven leaders summit in his hometown of Hiroshima next month, could look to capitalise on a recent recovery in the support ratings for his cabinet by calling a snap election.
In western Wakayama prefecture where the apparent attack against Kishida took place, a candidate of the conservative Japan Innovation Party was projected to win one of the other two lower house seats up for grabs, according to NHK.
The broadcaster has not yet called the projected winners of another seat for the lower house and one for the upper house of parliament in the remaining two races.
(Reporting by Daniel Leussink; Editing by Christina Fincher)
