Japan's ruling coalition set to lose majority of upper house
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The news: Exit polls show that Japan’s ruling coalition is likely to lose its majority in the upper house after Sunday’s election, a result that would bring further instability for Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s leadership.
The numbers: Japanese broadcaster NHK showed that Ishiba’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its coalition partner Komeito required 50 seat to retain control of the 248 seat upper chamber, where 125 of the seats were up for election.
NHK said that LDP is set to secure 32 to 51 seats. Other broadcasters predict the coalition will hold 41-43 seats. If the coalition secures less than 46 seats the outcome would mark its worst result since its formation in 1999.
The context: The result would be the second poor result for Ishiba, after last October saw the coalition achieve its worst lower house showing in 15 years.
The broadcasters said the coalition faces “a difficult situation” to keep clear control of the 248-member body, which would likely complicate trade negotiations with the US. While the last three LDP prime ministers who lost an upper house majority stepped down within months of the loss, Ishiba has reportedly said that he does not plant to stand down should his bloc lose its majority.
