Japan’s ruling coalition loses majority to new Prime Minister Ishiba | Election news

The result comes as a major blow to Prime Minister Ishiba as his Liberal Democratic Party records its worst performance in 15 years.

Japan’s ruling coalition lost its parliamentary majority in a major defeat in Sunday’s national elections, adding to uncertainty about the composition of the next government and the prospects for the world’s fourth-largest economy.

Of the 465 seats, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which ruled Japan for most of its post-war history, and junior coalition partner Komeito won 209 seats in the lower house of parliament, with 20 exceptions. This was reported by Japanese public broadcaster NHK.

That’s down from the 279 seats they previously held, marking the coalition’s worst electoral performance since briefly losing power in 2009.

“This election has been very difficult for us,” a somber-looking Ishiba told TV Tokyo.

Keiichi Ishii, who became the new leader of Komeito, a longtime coalition partner of the LDP, lost his constituency last month.

The night’s biggest winner, the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDPJ), won 143 seats so far, up from 98 previously, as voters punished Ishiba’s party over a funding scandal and inflation.

The result could force parties to reach uneasy power-sharing agreements, potentially leading to political instability as the country faces economic challenges and a tense security situation in East Asia.

“This is not the end, but the beginning,” CDPJ leader Yoshihiko Noda told a news conference, adding that his party would work with other opposition parties to bring about a change in government.

Prime Minister Ishiba said he would wait for final results, expected early Monday, before considering potential coalitions or other power-sharing agreements.

Last month, Ishiba defeated eight other candidates to become head of the conservative LDP, which has governed Japan almost continuously for seven decades, albeit with frequent leadership changes.

He took office days later, replacing Fumio Kishida, who faced discontent with rising prices, a slush fund scandal and the LDP’s ties to the Christian movement following the 2022 assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Ishiba called early elections immediately after his election, hoping to gain a public mandate for his premiership.

At a rally on Saturday, Ishiba promised that the LDP would “start anew as an honest, fair and sincere party.”

This was not enough to convince voters.

The LDP has held an absolute majority since returning to power in 2012 after a brief opposition rule. She also briefly lost power in 1993 when a coalition of seven opposition parties formed a government that lasted less than a year.

Smaller parties such as the Democratic People’s Party (DPP) or the Japan Innovation Party may now be key to forming a government.

According to NHK, the DPP currently has 27 seats and the Japan Innovation Party has 35 seats. But both are proposing policies that run counter to the LDP line.