Tokyo [Japan]: Japan’s ruling camp lost its majority in the House of Representatives in Sunday’s election, dealing a heavy blow to new Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba who must now look for additional support outside the coalition to run a stable government, Kyodo News reported.
The results followed a deepening distrust in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party due to a slush funds scandal, indicating a shift in the support that enabled it to return to power in 2012.
Even if Ishiba accepts former party lawmakers who ran as independents after being denied LDP endorsement over the scandal, the coalition would still fall short of a majority in Japan’s lower house.
The LDP-Komeito coalition missed its goal of crossing the majority mark of 233 in the 465-member lower house, having held a combined 288 seats before the election. The post-election outlook is uncertain, with some major opposition parties that made notable gains rejecting the possibility of joining a government with the ruling bloc, as per Kyodo News.
The LDP, which had 256 seats before the election, suffered a setback, the CDPJ built on its previous 98 seats, securing more than 140 seats led by his party.
Opposition parties, composed of both liberal and right-leaning forces, are also expected to struggle to cooperate in forming a coalition due to differences in their policy goals, as reported by Kyodo News.
After the election, Ishiba said the LDP, which has governed Japan for most of the postwar era, is “far from gaining the public’s understanding” over the slush funds scandal.
Voting for Japan’s House of Representatives was held on Sunday (local time) in an election deemed crucial for the political stability of the country at a time of economic uncertainty, challenging foreign relations environment and public discontent.
The lower house election results will pose a daunting challenge for Ishiba as he seeks to rebuild the LDP before the House of Councillors election next summer.Analysts also say the election outcome will make it almost impossible for Ishiba to fulfill his key promise of initiating a proposal to revise the country’s Constitution through parliament before a national referendum, which requires approval by a two-thirds majority in parliament.