Japan Faces Political Crisis As Ruling Coalition Loses Majority

Japan, one of the world’s most important economies, is currently facing political instability as the ruling coalition lost a majority in the 465-seat lower house in a key parliamentary election Sunday. Japanese PM Shigeru Ishiba’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its junior coalition partner Komeito managed to secure only 215 seats, down from 279. A party or coalition is required to get 233 seats to win power in the country’s lower house.

The result is a major blow to Shigeru Ishiba, who took office on October 1. Ishibar had called the snap poll hoping to win a public mandate for his premiership. Notably, it is the worst election result for the LDP, which has governed the country almost continuously since 1955. “The results so far have been extremely severe, and we take them very seriously,” the Japanese PM told the country's national NHK television late Sunday, as quoted by the Associated Press. LDP suffered the defeat mainly due to rising prices and a funding scandal.

The Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan made huge gains to 148 seats from its previous 98 seats. It is unclear who will govern Japan, as Ishiba is likely to struggle to form a government. At the same time, LDP will now need to form a coalition with other parties it fought in the election to stay in power. According to Japan’s constitution, the parties now have 30 days to put together a coalition.