TOKYO -- Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida faces growing political headwinds after the ruling Liberal Democratic Party lost one of two parliamentary by-elections on Sunday, complicating his decision on when to call a snap lower house election.

Kishida, who led the LDP to victory in the lower house in 2021 and the upper house in 2022, has used the threat of a snap election to maintain his grip on the party. But the results of the latest votes could upend that strategy.