Japan's House of Representatives election takes place; the Liberal Democratic Party suffers a disastrous defeat | WPN World People News

The 50th Japanese House of Representatives election took place on the 27th, marking one of the most intense elections in years. The ruling coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and Komeito suffered a devastating defeat, delivering a significant blow to Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. The new parliamentary landscape will see a "small ruling party and large opposition" scenario. LDP election strategy chief Shinjiro Koizumi accepted responsibility for the loss and resigned to Ishiba this morning, with the resignation approved.

This election involved 465 seats, including 289 single-member districts and 176 proportional representation seats, with a total of 1,344 candidates registered—1,113 for single-member districts and 231 for proportional representation. Before the election, the ruling coalition held 279 seats (247 for the LDP and 32 for Komeito), but the election results yielded only 215 seats (191 for the LDP and 24 for Komeito), falling short of a majority (233 seats). The largest opposition party, the Constitutional Democratic Party, surged from 98 seats before the election to 148 seats, while the total number of seats held by opposition parties and independents reached 250.

Sixty-seven-year-old Shigeru Ishiba became Japan's new prime minister after narrowly winning the LDP leadership election last month and subsequently called for early elections. During a speech on the 25th, Ishiba admitted, "The situation is extremely severe." He set a majority as his goal, stating that failing to meet this threshold would undermine his standing within the LDP and necessitate seeking other coalition partners or leading a minority government. Reports suggest that calls for Ishiba's resignation have begun to circulate within the LDP. However, Ishiba held a press conference this afternoon and stated that he would not resign.