Japan’s ruling party lost its majority in the House of Representatives in Sunday’s election, dealing a blow to Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who must now look for additional support outside the coalition to lead a stable government.
However, Ishiba expressed his willingness to form a new government led by his party. Opposition parties, made up of liberal and right-wing forces, are also expected to have difficulty cooperating in forming a coalition due to differences in their political objectives, it was reported. Kyodo News.
The dismal results underscore growing distrust in the Liberal Democratic Party, in power due to the slush fund scandal, marking a seismic shift in support that allowed it to return to power in 2012 after a period in opposition.
A somber-looking Ishiba described the election results as “tough” as they became known. “We were far from gaining public understanding” about the secret fund scandal, Ishiba said. The head of the LDP expressed his hope to continue leading the government to promote the coalition’s policies.
His tactic of dissolving the powerful chamber just eight days after taking office on October 1 and calling elections failed.
The LDP’s problems worsened in the final days of the campaign after it was revealed that the party had provided 20 million yen ($132,000) to each of the local branches headed by some scandal-tainted and unendorsed candidates. Opposition leaders were quick to intensify criticism, accusing the ruling party of covertly supporting the candidates.
Komeito head Keiichi Ishii, who took office just a month ago, lost his seat, becoming the first head of the coalition partner to suffer a defeat since 2009. The party backed by the secular-Buddhist organization Soka Gakkai, which It had 32 seats before the elections, it lost a dozen of them.
Agriculture Minister Yasuhiro Ozato was defeated by his rival from the opposition party. Justice Minister Hideki Makihara also lost his seat.
The CDPJ, for its part, won more than 140 seats, a sharp increase from the previous 98. «Voters chose which party would be best suited to promote political reforms. That is why we have received so much support,” said CDPJ head Yoshihiko Noda.
Political observers have suggested that the LDP could accept back into the party those who were denied support for their involvement in reporting undeclared income at fundraising events.
Still, former Education Minister Hakubun Shimomura, along with half of the roughly 10 candidates who were denied support, lost their seats. All of the candidates who were forced to run as independents had close ties to the late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who wielded significant influence over the LDP even after his resignation as leader in 2020.
Another option for the ruling coalition would be to seek the cooperation of the People’s Democratic Party, which saw its seats increase by more than four from the seven it had.
Party leader Yuichiro Tamaki, however, has rejected the idea of joining the ruling coalition, while the Japan Innovation Party, another opposition force, is also negative about working with the LDP-Komeito group. .
Voter turnout stood at 53.81%, according to a Kyodo News estimate, around 2 percentage points lower than in the previous 2021 election and likely the third lowest post-war. The number of female legislators reached 55, a record number.
In Sunday’s election, each voter cast two ballots: one to choose a candidate in a single-member constituency and another to choose a party in the proportional representation section. Final election results are expected to be clear early Monday.
Ishiba has vowed to prioritize easing the negative impact of inflation on households, bolstering Japan’s defenses against security threats from its neighbors, and improving regional economies and disaster resilience.
The growing funding scandal has continued to dog the LDP since it emerged in late 2023, driving public support down to levels that ultimately forced Ishiba’s predecessor, Fumio Kishida, to resign from running for re-election as party chief.
The results of the Lower House elections will present a daunting challenge for Ishiba as he attempts to rebuild the LDP ahead of next summer’s House of Councilors elections.
Analysts also say the election result will make it almost impossible for Ishiba to fulfill his key promise to initiate a proposal to revise the country’s constitution through parliament before a national referendum, which requires approval by a two-thirds majority in the parliament.
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