Japan's Ruling Coalition Loses Majority in Upper House Elections

The Japanese ruling coalition, led by embattled Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, suffered a major blow in Sunday's upper house elections, losing its majority in the House of Councillors. The Liberal Democratic Party and its partner Komeito now have 122 seats, down from 141 before the election, and are under pressure to form a new coalition or face calls for Ishiba's resignation.

Key Takeaways:

• The ruling coalition failed to meet its pre-election goal of winning at least 50 of the 125 contested seats, falling short of the majority threshold in the upper house.
• The Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito have 122 seats, down from 141 before the election, and lost majority control in both houses of parliament.
• The right-leaning populist party Sanseito emerged as an alternative, increasing its share of upper house seats from two to 15 and enabling it to submit bills in the chamber.
• Major opposition parties, including the Democratic Party for the People, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, and the Japan Innovation Party, ruled out joining the Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito in an expanded coalition.
• The election saw a record 26 million people cast early ballots, with a voter turnout of 58.51 percent, higher than the 52.05 percent recorded in the previous upper house election in 2022.

Statistics:

• The ruling coalition held 141 seats before the election and now has 122 seats.
• The Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito won 50.4 percent of the votes in the proportional representation system (Bernama).
• 520 candidates were vying for the 125 seats in the upper house election.
• Voter turnout stood at 58.51 percent, with 26 million people casting early ballots.
• The previous upper house election in 2022 saw voter turnout of 52.05 percent.

Sources:

• [Kyodo News Agency]
• [Bernama]
• [Japanese government records]