With public interest drawn to developments in the ongoing Iraq war, the first round of elections in local governments and assemblies featured low-key campaigning and a generally poor turnout. The media has not shown great interest in hyping up the local poles. And established political parties have tended to keep a low profile as many candidates fear that a clear and direct affiliation with a political party would work to their disadvantage.

Sunday's elections did not produce any significant result that would have a strong impact on national politics. Political parties had regarded the current two rounds of local elections as a preliminary to a House of Representatives election that seems likely to be held later this year. As it turned out, however, political parties did not play a significant role in determining the voters' choice of candidates. An increasing number of candidates rejected political parties' offers of support. This occurred against a broader background in which more than 50 percent of the electorate did not support any particular party according to a pre-election opinion survey.

This poses a clear contrast to the last round of local elections four years ago, in which many successful candidates were supported -- officially or otherwise -- by established political parties. At the same time, however, it is also true that even in Sunday's contest, the ruling political parties' organized strength remained a powerful vote-gathering machine. Of the 10 successful candidates in gubernatorial elections, three made full use of organized support in Hokkaido, Shimane and Oita prefectures.