<figure id="attachment_279856" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-279856" style="width: 4242px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="8f6ae6c4"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2022/12/aflo_205824786.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-279856" class="wp-caption-text">Declining support and resignation dominoes were drowned out by the heat of the World Cup soccer tournament&#8230; But the will of the people of Ibaraki showed &#8220;NO.&#8221; Photo: Representative Photo/Reuters/Afro</figcaption></figure>
<h2> Prime Minister Kishida&#8217;s &#8220;No&#8221; to the unexpected election of 10 incumbents&#8230;</h2>
 Prime Minister Fumio Kishida may be taking a &#8220;breather&#8221; now that the Diet session is over, but this weekend he received a very serious report. In the conservative kingdom of Ibaraki, 10 incumbent LDP prefectural assembly members, including Masayoshi Saijo, 68, secretary general of the LDP&#8217;s prefectural federation, lost their elections. The prefectural government was rocked by the news.
 When the prime minister received the report, his face turned pale and he was stunned,&#8221; said a LDP election campaign official.
 The Ibaraki prefectural assembly election held on December 11 saw a record low voter turnout of 38.54%. There was a sense that prefectural residents&#8217; distrust of politics had reached its zenith.
 In Ushiku City in the southern part of the prefecture, two seats had been held by the Liberal Democratic Party before the election, but Asami Nagata (41), a former city councilor who ran for the seat from the Restoration Party, was elected as the top candidate. This was the first time the Ishin won a seat.
 The LDP, the largest faction in the prefectural assembly, maintained its majority with 35 members elected, including 10 uncontested votes, but 10 incumbents and 13 LDP-affiliated independent voters were eliminated. For the Kishida administration, this &#8220;prelude&#8221; to the local elections in April next year turned out to be the worst possible start to the &#8220;Ibaraki Shock,&#8221; with a much harder fight than expected.
<div data-friday-ad-slot="AD_inArticle"></div>
<h2> From a domino of resignations to an avalanche of unsuccessful elections</h2>
 How did this happen?
 Although &#8220;the administration&#8217;s approval rating has fallen, it cannot be said that there was no lack of pride, since the region is strongly conservative. Of course, the national political situation has been affected by what is known as the resignation domino.
 This time, the LDP saw a number of districts where incumbents and newcomers were replaced due to conservative competition. Furthermore, incumbents such as Secretary General Masayoshi Saijo 10 incumbents, including Saijo Masayoshi, secretary-general of the LDP, were not elected, and the incumbent 44 seats, a decrease of 9 This is a reduction of 9 seats from the current 44. The focus will be on whether they can regain 70% of the seats of the largest faction in the prefectural assembly by attracting newcomers who are independent and wish to join the Liberal Democratic Party faction. The focus will be on whether they can regain 70% of the seats in the prefectural assembly, the largest in the prefecture, by attracting newcomers without party affiliation who wish to join the Liberal Democratic Party faction.
 On the evening of November 11, Hiroshi Kajiyama, president of the Ibaraki Prefectural Federation, expressed his disappointment at the loss, saying, &#8220;It is very unfortunate that the secretary-general was not elected. He added.
 I am sure there were circumstances in each constituency, but I will consult with prefectural assembly members to determine how we should proceed, including the composition of our caucus,&#8221; he said.
 He said. The results in Ibaraki Prefecture, which has been called the &#8220;conservative kingdom,&#8221; clearly show that &#8220;the Kishida administration is losing ground at an accelerated pace,&#8221; according to a senior prefectural government official.
 &#8220;Instead of a prelude to a unified election, the mood in Ibaraki was one of mutual distrust of politics,&#8221; said a senior prefectural government official. In the aftermath of Justice Minister Banashi&#8217;s ouster, Mamoru Banashi, a prefectural assembly member with the same surname 27 It is clear that the Kishida administration&#8217;s unpopularity is spreading to the provinces. Above all, the 40% voter turnout is the lowest in history. Ibaraki Prefecture cannot be said to be a complementary region to the central political world.
<h2> The soccer effect has made critics of the administration&#8230;</h2>
 Another senior LDP official said with a somber look on his face.
 In Ibaraki Prefecture, we managed to secure party strength through organizational votes. However, all the policies are painful for the people, such as raising taxes on defense funds, restarting nuclear power plants, and introducing an invoice system. The problems of soaring prices, politics and money, and the former Unification Church have not been resolved. Something must be done about it. &#8230; Prime Minister Kishida seems to be somewhat complacently thinking that he has gotten away with the extraordinary Diet session.&#8221;
<div data-friday-ad-slot="AD_inArticle"></div>
 This official also said
 &#8220;Soccer W The Japanese national team&#8217;s success in the World Cup soccer tournament has only diluted criticism of the administration.
 The official also pointed out Prime Minister Kishida&#8217;s naivete. The pain of the 1 trillion yen tax hike on defense spending, the unintended restart of nuclear power plants, and the further rise in prices was clearly manifested in the &#8220;Ibaraki shock. Prime Minister Kishida must take a hard look at the will of the people that has emerged from the conservative kingdom.

 Shutaro Iwashiro

 Representative photo/Reuters/Afro

 Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who seems to be taking a "breather" now that the Diet session is over, was to receive a serious report this weekend. In Ibaraki, the conservative kingdom of Japan, the LDP's

 The era of "Igope in the LDP" is over... "Ibaraki Shock" by a proud administration.

From the domino of Kishida&#8217;s resignation to an avalanche of unsuccessful elections&#8230;Secretary General loses election for Ibaraki Prefectural Assembly: &#8220;A Drastic Earthquake in the Kingdom of Conservatism

From the domino of Kishida’s resignation to an avalanche of unsuccessful elections…Secretary General loses election for Ibaraki Prefectural Assembly: “A Drastic Earthquake in the Kingdom of Conservatism

Access Ranking