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Japan experienced rare political turmoil on Monday as it grappled with the results of Sunday’s snap elections that snatched away the Liberal Democratic Party’s (LDP) majority in parliament for the first time in 15 years.
Called by Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who was named only last month after his predecessor Fumio Kishida left office over a series of corruption scandals, the general election was expected to help secure the new PM’s mandate and bolster much-needed public support for the LDP.
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It did neither, however, as Sunday’s results dealt a shocking blow to the ruling party which has held power in Japan almost without interruption since its creation in 1955.
Faced with a growing cost-of-living crisis, disgruntled voters shunned the scandal-ridden LDP by taking away 68 of its seats in the House of Representatives, the more powerful of Japan’s two-chamber parliament.
Along with Komeito, LDP’s coalition partner, both parties managed to hold on to only 215 seats (down from 279), falling short of the 233 seats needed for a majority. The LDP saw a number of veteran lawmakers lose their places in parliament, including the current agricultural minister and other heavyweights who have served in key cabinet and party posts.
Meanwhile the main opposition party, the Constitutional Democratic Party (CDP), scored big in the election by winning 148 seats – up from 96 – but failed to secure a majority. To do so, it would have to join forces with other opposition parties, ranging from communists to conservatives.
PM Ishiba and the LDP underestimated public anger over a major fundraising scandal. Voters also did not approve of the LDP’s ties to the Unification Church. Ishiba had a reputation as a reform-minded politician, but when he came to power as PM, he seemed to bow to pressure from other members of the party.
He called an election without adequately addressing the party’s scandals, and he is paying the price for it.
Japan’s economic situation [also] played into the LDP’s defeat. People who were suffering from the increased cost of living were watching media reports about politicians who systematically failed to report huge amounts of income. This was not a good time for the LDP to have a money scandal.
