In 2023, by-elections were held in Japan in order to fill vacancies in the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

and the

House of Councillors The is the upper house of the National Diet of Japan. The House of Representatives (Japan), House of Representatives is the lower house. The House of Councillors is the successor to the pre-war House of Peers (Japan), House of Peers. If the t ...

, the two houses of the

National Diet of Japan , transcription_name = ''Kokkai'' , legislature = 215th Session of the National Diet , coa_pic = Flag of Japan.svg , house_type = Bicameral , houses = , foundation=29 November 1890(), leader1_type ...

April by-elections

On 23 April 2023, 5 by-elections were held together with the second phase of the unified local elections (municipal elections except designated major cities), including

Yamaguchi 4th district Yamaguchi 4th district (山口県第4区 ''Yamaguchi-ken dai-yon-ku'') was a single-member electoral district for the House of Representatives, the lower house of the National Diet of Japan. It was located in Western Yamaguchi Prefecture and cons ...

, the seat of former

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Shinzo Abe Shinzo Abe (21 September 1954 – 8 July 2022) was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party (Liberal Democratic Party (Japan), LDP) from 2006 to 2007 and again from 2012 to 2020. ...

who was assassinaed on 8 July 2022. The ruling

Liberal Democratic Party Several political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party, Democratic Liberal Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties have usually followed liberalism as ideology, although they can vary widely from very progr ...

and opposition

Japan Innovation Party The is a conservative and centre-right to right-wing populist political party in Japan. Formed as Initiatives from Osaka in October 2015 from a split in the old Japan Innovation Party, the party became the third-biggest opposition party in ...

both made 1 pickup, flipping an

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

and a Democratic Party for the People seat respectively.

October by-elections

The October by-elections were held on 22 October 2023 after Nagasaki 4th district representative

Seigo Kitamura was a Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), who served as a member of the House of Representatives in the Diet (national legislature). Early life Kitamura was a native of Ojika, Nagasaki and graduated from Waseda Universi ...

's death and the resignation of Tokushima-Kōchi at-large district representative Kojiro Takano after beating his secretary. Both representatives were members of the

. The LDP lost 1 upper house seat to Independent

Hajime Hirota is a Japanese politician of the Constitutional Democratic Party and a member of the House of Councillors in the National Diet , transcription_name = ''Kokkai'' , legislature = 215th Session of the National Diet , coa_pic ...

who was backed by opposition parties Constitutional Democratic,

Communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

, and

Social Democratic Social democracy is a Social philosophy, social, Economic ideology, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achi ...

References

{{2023 elections in Japan By-elections in Japan 2023 elections in Japan April 2023 in Japan October 2023 in Japan

April by-elections

October by-elections

See also

References