Japan’s ruling coalition led by the Liberal Democratic party has lost its parliamentary majority, in a shock rebuke by voters that plunges the country into political uncertainty. The LDP’s worst electoral reversal for 15 years, which will leave the party struggling to govern and recently anointed Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba under pressure to resign, came in a snap election he called to try to draw a line under a slush-fund scandal.
They’ll still rule. They are by far the biggest party.
This just probably means they’ll recruit one of the smaller populist right wing parties into their coalition.
People were really pissed about the corruption scandals and still voted most for LDP. As my Japanese partner told me “we have a culture of conformity and respect to authority which clashes with the idea of democracy”.
Ah, damn. Here I was hoping for a shakeup in Japan’s politics.