TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s ruling coalition lost its majority in the 465-seat lower house in a crucial parliamentary election Sunday, a punishment due to voter anger over the ruling party’s widespread financial scandal.
The Liberal Democratic Party, led by Ishiba, remains the largest party in the Diet, and a change of government is not expected. But the outcome creates political uncertainty. The lack of a majority will make it difficult for Ishiba to pass his party’s policies through parliament, and he may need to find a third coalition partner. The Liberal Democratic Party’s coalition government maintains a majority in the weak House of Councilors.
Overall, the ruling coalition with junior partner Komeito won 215 seats, according to Japanese media, a significant decrease from the previous majority of 279 seats. This was the worst result for the coalition government since it was temporarily ousted from power in 2009.
Ishiba took office on October 1, and immediately ordered a general election in the hope of increasing support after his predecessor, Fumio Kishida, failed to deal with public anger over scandals at the Liberal Democratic Party.
“The results so far are extremely harsh and we take them very seriously,” Ishiba told nationally broadcast NHK television late Sunday. “I think voters are telling us to reflect more and become a party that lives up to their expectations.”
Ishiba said the Liberal Democratic Party will continue to lead the ruling coalition on key policies, formulate the planned supplementary budget, and pursue political reforms.
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He indicated that the party is ready to cooperate with opposition forces if it meets the expectations of the people.
The Constitutional Democratic Party, led by Yoshihiko Noda of the Centrist Party, significantly increased its seats from 98 to 148 in the previous election, and Noda said, “Achieving our goal of preventing the ruling coalition from falling short of the majority is a major achievement.” .
Mr. Noda called this election a once-in-a-lifetime chance for a change of government, and said he would like to lead a coalition with other opposition parties to achieve this. However, his party was having trouble finding partners, and many voters were skeptical of the opposition’s ability and lack of experience.
For Ishiba, further potential partners include the Democratic Party of the People, which seeks tax cuts, and the conservative Japan Restoration Party.
Democratic Party representative Yuichiro Tamaki said he was positive about “partial cooperation.” Nobuyuki Baba, leader of the Ishin Party, denied any intention to cooperate. The Centrist Democratic Party quadrupled to 28 seats, but the conservative Ishin Party fell to 38 seats.
Mr. Ishiba may also face a backlash from many lawmakers mired in the scandal of former leader Shinzo Abe, whom Mr. Ishiba withdrew from Sunday’s election in a bid to regain public support.
The Liberal Democratic Party’s cohesion is currently declining, and there is a possibility that we will enter an era of short-lived prime ministers. Ishiba is expected to remain in office at least until the ruling party approves a major budget bill at the end of December.
Izuru Makihara, a professor of politics and public policy at the University of Tokyo, points out, “The public’s criticism of the slush fund issue is growing, and it won’t subside easily.” “People are becoming more conscious of fairness and are rejecting the privileges of politicians,” Makihara said, suggesting that Ishiba needs bold political reform measures to regain public trust.
A total of 1,344 candidates ran in Sunday’s election, including a record 314 women.
In a further blow to the ruling coalition, a number of Liberal Democratic Party veterans who held cabinet posts, as well as Komeito’s new leader Keiichi Ishii, lost their seats.
Experts say the Constitutional Democratic Party-led government is not included in the initiative due to a lack of viable policies.
Makihara said, “If they come to power and try to change the current administration’s economic and foreign policies, it will just collapse immediately.” Realistically, he said, Ishiba’s ruling coalition will likely seek cooperation with either the Ishin Party or the Democratic Party of Japan.
At polling stations in central Tokyo, many voters said they took corruption scandals and economic measures into account when deciding how to vote.
Ishiba, once a popular politician known for criticizing even his own party’s policies, has seen support for his cabinet plummet in the weeks since it was formed.
Mr. Ishiba promised to revitalize local economies, address Japan’s declining birthrate, and strengthen defense. But his cabinet was filled with familiar faces, including only two women, and was seen as alienated by members of the faction led by late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Ishiba quickly backed away from his previous support for choosing separate surnames for couples and legalizing same-sex marriage, an apparent compromise with the party’s influential ultra-conservative wing.
Asia Group political analyst Rintaro Nishimura said the drop in popularity was due to “the gap between what the people expected of him as prime minister and the reality he delivered as prime minister.”
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Associated Press writer Mayuko Ono contributed to this report.
