TOKYO, April 28 (UPI) -- Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party lost a key lower house by-election, which may further erode Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda's popularity.
The Democratic Party of Japan, the main opposition group, saw its candidate, Hideo Hiraoka, defeat LDP's Shigetaro Yamamoto, 59, by more than 21,900 votes in Sunday's national level by-election for the lower house in the Yamaguchi prefecture, Kyodo news service reported.
The LDP's defeat comes in the wake of Fukuda's unpopular policies relating to road tax and elderly medical care issues, the report said. The opposition already controls Japan's upper house of parliament.
The election defeat was the first such for the administration since Fukuda became prime minister in September.
The victory could encourage the DPJ to press its demand for an early general election, the report said.
"This by-election is the latest public will. I would like to watch how the Fukuda administration will deal with it," Hiraoka was quoted as saying.
"It's the beginning of the end of LDP rule," DPJ parliamentary affairs head Kenji Amaoka said.
