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Japan's Ruling Coalition Lose 10/28 06:50
TOKYO (AP) -- Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba' s ruling coalition
lost a majority in the 465-seat lower house in a key parliamentary election
Sunday, a punishment by voters' outrage over the governing party's extensive
financial scandals.
Ishiba's Liberal Democratic Party remains the top party in Japan's
parliament, and a change of government is not expected. But the results create
political uncertainty. Falling short of a majority makes it difficult for
Ishiba to get his party's policies through parliament, and he may need to find
a third coalition partner. The LDP's coalition retains a majority in the less
powerful upper house.
All told, the ruling coalition with junior partner Komeito secured 215
seats, down sharply from the majority of 279 it previously held, according to
Japanese media. It is the coalition's worst result since briefly falling from
power in 2009.
Ishiba took office on Oct. 1 and immediately ordered the election in hopes
of shoring up support after his predecessor, Fumio Kishida, failed to address
public outrage over the LDP's scandals.
"The results so far have been extremely severe, and we take them very
seriously," Ishiba told Japan's national NHK television late Sunday. "I believe
the voters are telling us to reflect more and become a party that lives up to
their expectations."
Ishiba said the LDP would still lead a ruling coalition and tackle key
policies, compile a planned supplementary budget and pursue political reform.
He indicated that his party is open to cooperating with opposition groups if
that suits the public's expectations.
The Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, led by centrist leader
Yoshihiko Noda, made huge gains to 148 seats, from its previous 98. "We
accomplished our goal of preventing the ruling coalition from a majority, which
was a major achievement," Noda said.
Noda called the election a rare chance for a change of government, and said
he seeks to lead a coalition with other opposition groups to do so. But his
party has had trouble finding partners, and many voters were skeptical about
the opposition's ability and inexperience.
For Ishiba, potential additional partners include the Democratic Party of
the People, which calls for lower taxes, and the conservative Japan Innovation
Party.
DPP head Yuichiro Tamaki said he was open to "a partial alliance."
Innovation Party chief Nobuyuki Baba has denied any intention to cooperate. The
centrist DPP quadrupled to 28 seats, while the conservative Innovation Party
slipped to 38.
Ishiba may also face backlash from a number of scandal-tainted lawmakers
with former leader Shinzo Abe's faction, whom Ishiba had un-endorsed for
Sunday's election in an attempt to regain public support.
The LDP is less cohesive now and could enter the era of short-lived prime
ministers. Ishiba is expected to last at least until the ruling bloc approves
key budget plans at the end of December.
"The public's criticisms against the slush funds scandal has intensified,
and it won't go away easily," said Izuru Makihara, a University of Tokyo
professor of politics and public policy. "There is a growing sense of fairness,
and people are rejecting privileges for politicians." Makihara suggested Ishiba
needs bold political reform measures to regain public trust.
A total of 1,344 candidates, including a record 314 women, ran for office in
Sunday's election.
In another blow to the ruling coalition, a number of LDP veterans who have
served in Cabinet posts, as well as Komeito's new leader, Keiichi Ishii, lost
seats.
Experts say a CDPJ-led government is not in the picture because of its lack
of viable policies.
"If they take power and try to change the economic and diplomatic policies
of the current government, they will only end up collapsing right away,"
Makihara said. Realistically, Ishiba's ruling coalition would seek a
partnership with either the Innovation Party or the Democratic Party of the
People, he said.
At a downtown Tokyo polling station, a number of voters said they had
considered the corruption scandal and economic measures in deciding how to vote.
Once a popular politician known for criticism of even his own party's
policies, Ishiba has also seen support for his weeks-old Cabinet plunge.
Ishiba pledged to revitalize the rural economy, address Japan's falling
birth rate and bolster defense. But his Cabinet has familiar faces, with only
two women, and was seen as alienating members of the faction led by late
premier Shinzo Abe. Ishiba quickly retreated from earlier support for a dual
surname option for married couples and legalizing same-sex marriage, an
apparent compromise to the party's influential ultra-conservatives.
His popularity fell because of "the gap in what the public expected him to
be as prime minister versus the reality of what he brought as prime minister,"
said Rintaro Nishimura, a political analyst at The Asia Group.
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