Prime Minister Fumio Kishida heads to France, Brazil, and Paraguay beginning Wednesday on official business. But while abroad, he has some serious thinking to do about how to handle his party being completely shut out in Sunday’s by-elections.

In the wake of the Liberal Democratic Party’s loss in the Shimane No. 1 district after deciding not to field candidates in the Tokyo No. 15 and Nagasaki No. 3 races, speculation is growing over whether Kishida, who is also LDP president, might decide to take responsibility by calling an early election or ordering a Cabinet reshuffle and party leadership changes before September's LDP presidential election.

The main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan won all three races, and CDP leader Kenta Izumi said afterward that his party would continue to call for an early election. A Lower House poll is not scheduled until October 2025, but the prime minister has the right to dissolve parliament beforehand.

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