Kishida rules out an early election after the LDP’s big win in Sunday’s by-election

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) received a welcome boost Sunday night as four out of five candidates belonging to or supporting the LDP won a key by-election – though Kishida poured cold water on talk of early balloting.

Although the LDP did better than expected, a closer look at the election numbers shows that some of the victories were narrow, and that public confidence in the Kishida administration may not be as strong as the final results suggest.

The four House of Representatives elections and one Senate contest were seen as critical tests of Kishida’s popularity. There has been talk that he may call snap elections sometime after the G7 leaders meet in Hiroshima next month.