2026 POLLS: Conservative Division Deepens in Fukui

Fukui, Feb. 5 (Jiji Press)--The conservative grip is slipping in Fukui Prefecture ahead of Sunday's House of Representatives election, following the recent gubernatorial election that left major fractures within Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party.

The No. 1 constituency in the snowbound central Japan prefecture sees high-profile seven-term lawmaker Tomomi Inada, 66, holding the upper hand in the campaign for the election for the all-important lower chamber of the Diet, the country's parliament.

In the No. 2 constituency, in contrast, the LDP was unable to field a candidate, reflecting lingering friction between the party's prefectural chapter and the party headquarters.

In the 2009 Lower House election, in which the LDP was ousted from power, the party nevertheless won all of the former No. 1 constituency to the No. 3 constituency in Fukui, highlighting a strong conservative base.

However, in the previous Lower House election in 2024, Tsuyoshi Takagi, who was not endorsed by the LDP due to his involvement in the party's high-profile slush fund scandal, lost his seat in the No. 2 constituency to the candidate of the opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]