August 11, 2026

Japanese Communist Party candidate, Morooka Miki, was elected on August 9 in a by-election to fill a vacancy in the Nagano Prefectural Assembly. With this victory, the JCP increased its number of seats in the assembly to six from the pre-election strength of five, restoring the right of interpellation.

In the election, Morooka received 18,650 votes and defeated her three rivals, including the candidate of the “Nippon Ishin no Kai” party, a coalition partner of the Liberal Democratic Party at the national level. The voter turnout rate was 38.84%.

Commenting on her election, Morooka said that she had communicated with many people to listen to their needs and demands for healthcare and nursing care services. She added that this contributed to attracting support from swing voters and voters who usually support the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, the Centrist Reform Alliance, or the LDP.

The JCP prefectural assemblymembers’ group head, Mori Eiko, welcomed the election result and stated, “Using the newfound strength, we will work ever harder to protect local autonomy from the national government’s bad policies and realize people’s demands.”