The fate of Prime Minister Naoto Kan was hanging in the balance Monday following a devastating defeat the previous day in a key local poll in Ibaraki Prefecture in which only six of 24 candidates fielded by the Democratic Party of Japan won.

Sunday's Ibaraki Prefectural Assembly election was widely considered a harbinger of a number of local-level elections scheduled in April. The latest setback has added to growing concern among DPJ members that the party under Kan may suffer similar defeats in April.

The six seats won by the DPJ matched the number held before the election, signaling defeat for a party that could only seat a quarter of its candidates.