Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Nobutaka Machimura's victory Sunday in the Lower House by-election in Hokkaido for the Hokkaido No. 5 constituency has dealt another blow to the ruling Democratic Party of Japan, which suffered a huge setback in the July Upper House election.
Experts said the DPJ's latest setback reflected the public's disappointment toward the ruling party as it struggles to stay afloat amid a string of money scandals and foreign policy blunders that have rocked Prime Minister Naoto Kan's administration, whose second Cabinet debuted in September.
In facing a divided Diet in which it lacks an Upper House majority, the ruling party will now be under further pressure from the opposition as it seeks to pass a supplementary budget for fiscal 2010.