Japan’s ruling coalition loses majority in Lower House, creating political uncertainty | World news

TOKYO: Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s ruling coalition lost its majority in the 465-seat lower house in a key parliamentary election on Sunday, punishment for voter outrage over the ruling party’s extensive financial scandals. Ishiba’s Liberal Democratic Party remains the main party in Japan’s parliament and a change of government is not expected. But the results create political uncertainty.

Falling short of a majority, Ishiba is finding it difficult to get his party’s policies passed in parliament, and may need to find a third coalition partner. The LDP coalition retains the majority in the less powerful upper house. In total, the ruling coalition with its junior partner Komeito won 215 seats, well below the majority of 279 it previously had, according to Japanese media. It is the coalition’s worst result since it briefly fell from power in 2009.

Ishiba took office on October 1 and immediately ordered the election in hopes of shoring up support after his predecessor, Fumio Kishida, failed to address public outrage over the LDP scandals. “The results so far have been extremely severe and we take them very seriously,” Ishiba told Japan’s NHK national television on Sunday night. “I think voters are telling us to reflect more and become a party that lives up to their expectations.”

Ishiba said the LDP would still lead a governing coalition and address key policies, compile a planned supplementary budget and pursue political reforms. He indicated that his party is open to cooperating with opposition groups if it meets public expectations. The Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, led by centrist leader Yoshihiko Noda, made huge gains to 148 seats, up from 98 previously. “We achieved our goal of preventing the ruling coalition from gaining a majority, which was an important achievement,” Noda said.

Noda called the elections a rare opportunity for a change of government and said he seeks to lead a coalition with other opposition groups to achieve it. But his party has had trouble finding partners and many voters were skeptical about the opposition’s ability and inexperience. For Ishiba, other potential partners include the People’s Democratic Party, which calls for lower taxes, and the conservative Japan Innovation Party.

DPP chief Yuichiro Tamaki said he was open to “a partial alliance.” The head of the Innovation Party, Nobuyuki Baba, has denied any intention to cooperate. The centrist DPP quadrupled to 28 seats, while the conservative Innovation Party fell to 38. Ishiba may also face backlash from a number of lawmakers tainted by scandals with the faction of former leader Shinzo Abe, whom Ishiba had dropped. endorse for Sunday’s elections in a bid to regain public support.

The LDP is less cohesive now and could enter the era of short-lived prime ministers. Ishiba is expected to last at least until the ruling bloc approves key budget plans at the end of December. “Public criticism against the illicit funds scandal has intensified and will not go away easily,” said Izuru Makihara, a professor of politics and public policy at the University of Tokyo.

“There is a growing sense of justice and people reject the privileges of politicians.” Makihara suggested that Ishiba needs bold political reform measures to regain public trust. A total of 1,344 candidates, including a record 314 women, ran in Sunday’s elections. In another blow to the ruling coalition, several LDP veterans who have held cabinet positions, as well as new Komeito leader Keiichi Ishii, lost seats.

Experts say a CDPJ-led government is not in the picture due to its lack of viable policies. “If they take power and try to change the economic and diplomatic policies of the current government, they will end up collapsing immediately,” Makihara said. Realistically, Ishiba’s ruling coalition would seek a partnership with the Innovation Party or the People’s Democratic Party, he said.

At a polling station in central Tokyo, several voters said they had considered the corruption scandal and economic measures when deciding how to vote.
Ishiba, once a popular politician known for criticizing even his own party’s policies, has also seen support for his weeks-old cabinet decline. Ishiba promised to revitalize the rural economy, address Japan’s falling birth rate and strengthen defense. But his cabinet has familiar faces, with only two women, and was seen as alienating members of the faction led by the late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Ishiba quickly withdrew his earlier support for a double-surname option for married couples and the legalization of same-sex marriage, an apparent compromise with the party’s ultra-conservative influencers.

His popularity fell because of “the gap between what the public expected him to be as prime minister and the reality of what he brought to the table as prime minister,” said Rintaro Nishimura, a political analyst at The Asia Group.