Japan's ruling party wins key by-election

Candidates from Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party won House of Representatives seats in two by-elections held on Sunday, giving a boost to the administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Zentaro Kamei took Kanagawa prefecture's No. 16 district with 109,464 votes, while Kenji Harada won in Osaka prefecture's No. 9 district with 111,226 votes, Kyoto News said early Monday.

Both by-elections were called to fill the vacancy following the death of former lawmakers in the two districts.

The by-elections were closely watched as a litmus test to see how voters were assessing Abe's less-than-a-month-old administration, as well as a prelude to the upcoming Upper House election.

Abe said Sunday night the governing coalition was greatly encouraged by the outcome of the two elections.

For the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), its defeats may dent the power of its leader Ichiro Ozawa, who took the helm of the main opposition party six months ago.

The LDP and its ruling coalition partner New Komeito hold over two thirds of the 480 seats in the House of Representatives.

Source: Xinhua