Japan's ruling coalition loses majority in lower house of parliament
Japan held national elections that brought significant political changes and weakened the ruling coalition, Kazinform News Agency correspondent reports, citing Kyodo News.
The Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner Komeito lost their parliamentary majority control of the 465-member House of Representatives for the first time in 15 years.
The ruling LDP experienced a notable decline, losing 65 seats, dropping from 256 to 191 seats. As a coalition partner of the LDP, Komeito lost 8 seats, going from 32 to 24.
The Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan achieved the largest gain among the opposition parties, with an increase of 50 seats, raising their total from 98 to 148. Democratic Party for the People saw a substantial increase, gaining 21 seats (from 7 to 28).
The LDP's support has fallen since the money scandal in late 2023, when some members were found to have underreported income from fundraising events. In the final days of the campaign, the LDP's reputation was further damaged by the revelation that it had spent 20 million yen ($132,000) to support controversial local candidates.
Now the Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba will have to seek additional support outside the coalition to have a stable government, whether from independents or from parties in the opposition camp.
Hanako Omura, a professor at Kyoto University, remarked that Prime Minister Ishiba’s swift decision to dissolve the lower house suggested he had not considered the perspectives of unaffiliated voters.
"When voters supporting the ruling party are dissatisfied with the state of the economy, they are quick to withdraw their support. But a similar trend is not observed among opposition supporters. This is what history tells us about the unique nature of Japanese voting behavior," the expert added.
Around 60 to 70 percent of voters in Japan are not affiliated with any party, with the rest split between the ruling and opposition camps.
