参院石川補選、４氏の争い　コロナ、物価高で論戦

　夏の参院選の前哨戦と位置付けられる参院石川選挙区補欠選挙が７日告示され、２４日の投開票に向けた選挙戦がスタートした。議席維持を狙う自民党に対し、立憲民主党など野党３党も独自候補をそれぞれ擁立。新型コロナウイルス禍や物価高騰などをめぐり論戦が交わされる見通しだ。
　補選は自民党参院議員の辞職に伴う。自民党前参院議員（比例代表）の宮本周司氏（５１）＝公明党推薦＝、立民新人で行政書士の小山田経子氏（４３）＝社民党推薦＝、共産党新人で党県委員会書記長の西村祐士氏（６７）、「ＮＨＫ受信料を支払わない国民を守る党（Ｎ党）」新人で自営業の斉藤健一郎氏（４１）が立候補した。（2022/04/07-17:58）

The official campaign period began Thursday for a House of Councillors seat by-election in the prefectural constituency of Ishikawa, central Japan, closely watched as a prelude to this summer's election for the upper chamber of the Diet, the country's parliament.
   The April 24 by-election could be an opportunity for voters to evaluate the administration of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, also president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, who took office about a half year ago.
   The LDP is resolved to secure the Upper House seat, while the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and the Japanese Communist Party fielded their respective candidates at a time when the two opposition parties are struggling to build cooperation for the Upper House poll in the summer.
   The Ishikawa poll is for filling the vacancy created by the resignation of LDP member Shuji Yamada as an Upper House lawmaker.
   Four people filed their candidacies in the by-election. Of them, Shuji Miyamoto, a 51-year-old former LDP lawmaker in the Upper House, was fielded by the ruling party and is backed by its coalition partner, Komeito. Tsuneko Oyamada, a 43-year-old administrative scrivener, ran on the ticket of the CDP and is backed by the Social Democratic Party. Hiroshi Nishimura, 67, an executive of the JCP's Ishikawa prefectural chapter, was put up by the party.