The loss by a ruling party candidate in Gifu's mayoral election over the weekend has spurred speculation that the outcome may deal a blow to a potential successor to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
The 38-year-old Masanao Shibahashi — a former Lower House member from the Democratic Party of Japan (currently known as the Democratic Party) — beat Kenji Nakanishi, the Liberal Democratic Party-backed candidate, by roughly 34,000 voteson Sunday. He won in a city long considered to be one of the most LDP-friendly areas of the country, thanks to the presence of the powerful Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Seiko Noda.
Shibahashi's victory over six rivals including Nakanishi, 56, has raised questions about whether the outcome may disrupt Noda's chance to challenge Abe — should she decide to do so — in the LDP presidential race later this year.