Ishiba’s Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner Komeito have won a majority (233 seats) in the 456-seat lower house, NHK reported.
In just four years, Japan is witnessing three Prime Ministers. The ruling coalition of Shigeru Ishiba, who took command in place of Fumyo Kishida, who took command after Shinzo Abe, has suffered a major setback. According to Japanese media reports, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) also did not succeed in taking the lead. At the same time, LDP’s ally Komeito had to face a crushing defeat and was not successful in gaining majority in the lower polls.
Ishiba’s Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner Komeito have won a majority (233 seats) in the 456-seat lower house, NHK reported. In Japan’s bicameral parliament, the lower house is very powerful. Losing the majority does not mean a change in the government, but the results will make it difficult for Ishiba to get his party’s policies passed in Parliament and he may have to look for a third coalition partner. Ishiba, who took office on October 1, had ordered snap elections in hopes of garnering support after his predecessor Fumio Kishida failed to quell public anger over the Liberal Democratic Party’s actions.
Worst result in 15 years
Japan’s elections on Sunday have dealt a major blow to the LDP, which has been the country’s most powerful and dominant party. Earlier footage from LDP headquarters showed sad faces as projections showed Ishiba was likely to lose the justice and agriculture ministerial seats. The last time the LDP lost an election was in 2009 when it was replaced by the centre-left Democratic Party of Japan for three years. However, the policy failures of the DPJ and its poor response to the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster allowed the LDP under Shinzo Abe to return to power in late 2012.
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