The Liberal Democratic Party suffered heavy electoral losses and lost its majority in Parliament.
After 15 years in power, the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan loses its majority in the Japanese Parliament. Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru’s conservative party suffered heavy electoral losses and failed to reach the 233 seats needed for an absolute majority.
His party, the Liberal Democratic Party, governed in coalition with the also conservative Komeito Party.
One solution for the ruling coalition is to collaborate with independent MPs, but this will not guarantee it a majority.
Prime Minister Isimba Sigeru said: “Our party failed to gain public understanding on the issue of politics and economics and this was the biggest blow to the Liberal Democratic Party”.
The leader of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, Noda Yoshihiko, said his party had made a big leap from the previous election: “We want to force the Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito to lose their majority and we will closely monitor the vote count.”
The PLD mired in a financial scandal
Aged 67, Shigeru Ishiba himself called this early election shortly after becoming Prime Minister on October 1, hoping to benefit from a state of grace to consolidate his power.
He assured Saturday during a campaign meeting in Tokyo that the PLD wanted “to start again on new bases as a fair, just and sincere party”. The leader promised voters “a new Japan”hoping to implement its program of strengthening security and defense, increased support for low-income households and revitalization of the Japanese countryside.
But the PLD is struggling to turn the page on its financing scandal, which had already contributed to the unpopularity of the previous Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida. While Shigeru Ishiba had pledged not to support the campaign of the incriminated members, the daily Asahi reported that the PLD had paid 20 million yen (122,000 euros) to the local sections led by these officials, provoking the fury of the opposition and amplifying doubts about the outcome of Sunday’s vote.
Shigeru Ishiba is also criticized for having reversed course on several issues since his election, such as the possibility for a married couple not to have the same last name, or higher taxation of capital gains.