Japan’s ruling LDP loses majority in early elections

What happened

Japan’s long-ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its ruling partner Komeito lost their majority in the lower house of parliament in early elections on Sunday, dealing a blow to new prime minister Shigeru Ishiba. The LDP coalition won about 215 seats in the 465-seat House of Representatives, down from 279 seats and well short of the 233 needed for a majority. The LDP still won a plurality of seats, but opposition parties, led by the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDP), won 235 seats.

who said that

“The results so far have been extremely serious and we take them very seriously,” Ishiba said. His decision to call elections right after being elected party leader was a “political gamble,” Shaimaa Khalil said at the bbc“and it backfired.” Ishiba has seen his popularity decline as he abandoned bold campaign promises and failed to clean up the party’s tarnished image.