VOA News

Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has suffered a major blow to his government, as opposition-backed candidates defeated rivals from his ruling party in two of three major elections. 

Official results show opposition candidate Takahiro Kuroiwa edged runner-up Ichiro Tsukada for an upper house seat for the northwestern state of Niigata. 

Mr. Tsukada is a 35-year old welfare worker. 

Opposition-backed Tadashi Ota, won the race for governor in Tokushima, beating the Liberal Democratic Party candidate, Junko Kawauchi. The only LDP candidate to emerge victorious was Masatoshi Ishida, who claimed the lower house seat from Wakayama. 

The parliamentary races were by-elections to fill seats vacated by the deaths of two LDP lawmakers. 

The election for governor was held to choose a successor for disgraced former Governor Toshio Endo, who was arrested last month on bribery charges. 

Analysts say the election results reflect Prime Minister Koizumi's plummeting popularity and weakening grip on power. 

Trouble began in late January, when Mr. Koizumi fired his popular Foreign Minister, Makiko Tanaka. In early April, a close ally of Mr. Kozumi, Koichi Kato, gave up his parliamentary seat over alleged misuse of political donations. 

Mr. Koizumi, who marked his first anniversary in office last Friday, also has failed to pull the Japanese economy out of recession. 

Some information for this report provided by AP and AFP.

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