LDP-Komeito Bloc Loses Majority In Lower House Election

Japanese voters on Sunday denied new Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba his desired mandate to govern the nation.

Ishiba dissolved the House of Representatives for a snap election shortly after he was elected prime minister on October 1. He succeeded Fumio Kishida, who was embattled in a scandal involving dubious political funds of party factions.

The LDP-Komeito coalition held a combined 279 seats before the election but gained just 215 seats in the election, below the 233 needed to form a majority.

Komeito chief Keiichi Ishii, who took the post only a month ago, lost his seat, becoming the first head of the coalition partner to suffer a defeat since 2009.

Ishiba must now seek a third party to join the coalition and remain in power.

The Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, the most significant opposition force, significantly increased its seats from its pre-election tally of 98 to 148 seats.

Party leader Yuichiro Tamaki, however, rejected the idea of joining the ruling coalition. At the same time, the Japan Innovation Party, another opposition force, was also pessimistic about working with the LDP-Komeito group.

According to a Kyodo News estimate, voter turnout was 53.81 percent, around two percentage points lower than in the previous election in 2021.