Shigeru Ishiba’s term as Japan’s leader could be over before it starts, as voters stripped the ruling LDP of its lower house majority, forcing it to seek partners for a fresh coalition.
Voters meted out severe punishment to his Liberal Democratic Party coalition in the parliament’s lower house elections on Sunday, stripping it of its majority as dozens of seats fell, and leaving no party with a clear mandate to govern.
Professor Satoru Mori, an international politics specialist at Keio University in Tokyo, said while it was likely the LDP, as the largest bloc, would still form part of the next governing coalition, Ishiba’s leadership was unlikely to survive the fallout. The messy negotiation process to form government will require the selection of a new cabinet and prime minister capable of securing the endorsement of the majority of the lower house.
For his part, Ishiba conceded the drubbing was “very severe”, telling Japan’s public broadcaster NHK on Sunday: “I don’t think we were able to gain the public’s understanding.” Tobias Harris, who runs Japan Foresight, a political risk advisory firm in Washington, said one possible outcome was for Ishiba to stay on as a caretaker prime minister in the short term if the parties could not agree on a consensus candidate.
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