Shigeru Ishiba, Japan’s prime minister and president of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), at the party’s headquarters following the lower house election, at the party’s headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, on Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024.
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Japan’s ruling coalition is set to lose its parliamentary majority, with national public broadcaster NHK projecting that the Liberal Democratic Party and its Komeito partner will fall short of the 233 seats needed to win power in the country’s lower house.
By 2:30 a.m. local time Sunday, NHK projected the ruling bloc would secure 212 seats, with just 10 of the total 465 seats left to count. The opposition Constitutional Democratic Party (CDP) and the Democratic Party for the People (DPP) are both expected to make significant gains.
Nikkei Asia made similar projections, reporting that it would cast uncertainty over the newly appointed administration of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. If the final results match the projections, then it would be the first time since 2009 that the LDP has lost its majority.
The LDP’s Ishiba succeeded Fumio Kishida as prime minister on Oct. 1. He called for a general election on Sept. 30 after winning the party’s internal election against rival Sanae Takaichi. The LDP’s election campaign has been dogged by concerns over inflation, as well as corruption scandals which have divided the party.
Ishiba had vowed to reduce the burden on households suffering from rising living costs and showed intentions to boost rural revitalization, as Japan’s countryside suffers from a broader demographic crisis and an aging population.
When the slush fund scandal came to light in 2023, four cabinet ministers, as well as other senior party officials were replaced by Kishida.
