1 hour, 25 minutes agoTOKYO (AFP) - A candidate backed by the main opposition party scored a large victory in a weekend Japanese by-election, official figures showed, dealing a blow to Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda.
The by-election in a constituency in the western prefecture of Yamaguchi was the first vote for a parliament seat since Fukuda took power in September and was seen as a referendum on his cabinet amid tumbling support ratings.
Photo: A candidate backed by the main opposition party scored a large victory in a weekend Japanese by-election, official figures showed, dealing a blow to Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, seen hereHideo Hiraoka, a 54-year-old former lawmaker backed by the Democratic Party, garnered 116,348 votes against 94,404 by Shigetaro Yamamoto, a 59-year-old former bureaucrat fielded by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
Democratic Party secretary-general Yukio Hatoyama said late Sunday the people "gave a hard blow to the Fukuda government."
"We made a leap towards the birth of Ozawa government," he said, referring to party leader Ichiro Ozawa.
Support ratings for Fukuda's cabinet have fallen to their lowest levels since he took over from the beleaguered Shinzo Abe.
The ruling party under Abe lost badly against the opposition Democratic Party in national elections in July last year, handing control of one house of parliament to the opposition camp.
The Democratic Party has pledged to create a true two-party system in Japan, where the Liberal Democrats have been in power for all but 10 months in a period stretching back more than half-a-century.
Support for the Fukuda government has taken a beating over corruption and other scandals, controversy over a petrol tax and the April start of a medical scheme which results in higher expenses for some of those aged 75 or older.
Japan has one of the world's most rapidly ageing populations, raising concerns about how the government will pay for rising medical costs and pension benefits.
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