Official campaigning for four Lower House by-elections began across Japan on Tuesday, after Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's ruling Liberal Democratic Party won a number of key gubernatorial races over the weekend.
With campaigning for a vacant Upper House seat in Oita Prefecture already underway, voting for the five by-elections will take place on April 23, the same day as the second round of contests across the country to select mayors and local assembly members.
The results of the by-elections could affect Kishida's decision on when to dissolve the Lower House for an election, pundits said. The LDP is hoping to at least retain the three seats it held before the upcoming contests.