In setback for Kishida, Japan's ruling LDP loses upper house seat

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida suffered an unexpected blow just days before his ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) heads into national polls, as the party lost one of two parliamentary by-el

Japanese suffered an unexpected blow just days before his ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) heads into national polls, as the party lost one of two parliamentary by-elections over the weekend.

The loss of an upper house seat in Shizuoka prefecture, to an independent candidate supported by the opposition, comes as Kishida's popularity has taken a hit in opinion polls, raising the prospect his time in office could be short-lived.

He has called for a "new capitalism" that would spread the benefits of growth and pushed to roll back some of the "Abenomics" policies of his former boss, Shinzo Abe. Yet he has so far failed to capture the imagination of voters since takingover from Yoshihide Suga this month.