The first stage of the 18th unified local elections (第18回統一地方選挙, dai-jūhachi-kai tōitsu chihō senkyo) in Japan took place on April 12, 2015.
The Liberal Democratic Party under leadership of Shinzo Abe was the overall victor, winning many races including all ten gubernatorial races[1] and 1,153 of the 2,284 assembly seats at stake.
[3] In addition to indicating support for the Abe government, the elections were also seen as a referendum on the Japan Innovation Party, and particularly on Osaka mayor Toru Hashimoto's plan to restructure the Osaka prefectural government.
[4] In the first stage, average turnout was estimated at 47.14%, the lowest in the history of Japanese unified elections and the first time that average turnout in unified elections fell below 50%.
The total number of prefectural and designated city assembly candidates was also the lowest in history at 3,272, 501 of which (21.9% of seats) ran unopposed.