Japan plunged into political uncertainty after voters handed the long-time ruling party a dramatic defeat.

CNN
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Japanese voters delivered a sharp rebuke to the country’s longtime ruling party in Sunday’s election, plunging the world’s fourth-largest economy into a rare period of political uncertainty.

Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party, which has ruled the country almost continuously since 1955, has lost its parliamentary majority in the powerful lower house for the first time in 15 years.

People’s anger and mistrust of government coupled with rising costs of living, inflation and a massive political finance scandal at the heart of the LDP saw voters express their displeasure at the ballot box.

The LDP and its coalition partner Komeito won just 215 of the 465 seats in the House of Representatives, short of the 233 seats needed to achieve a majority, according to public broadcaster NHK.

The decision is a major blow to newly minted Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, whose gamble to call a snap election to strengthen his position after taking office this month backfired dramatically.

Ishiba said voters had given his party a “severe verdict”, NHK reported.

With the conservative LDP dominating the country’s post-World War II political scene, elections to Japan’s lower house are usually a foregone conclusion.

It is now unclear who will rule Japan, as Ishiba, a former defense minister and political veteran, may struggle to form a government.

Before the election, the LDP and its junior coalition partner, Komeito, had 279 seats, while the LDP alone had 247 seats. On Sunday, the LDP won just 191 seats – its worst result since 2009, when the party suffered its biggest defeat. And was forced to hand over control to an opposition party.

To stay in power, the LDP could bring other parties into its coalition or rule through a minority government, both options putting Ishiba’s prime ministership in jeopardy.

The main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDPJ) won 148 seats, a significant increase from 98 seats. CDPJ leader Yoshihiko Noda told a press conference Sunday, “Our goal was to break the ruling party’s majority, and we achieved that. A great achievement.”

Ahead of the election, the LDP faced low approval ratings and public discontent over one of the country’s biggest political scandals in decades. Households and households face increased financial burdens, exacerbated by a weak yen, sluggish economy and high inflation.

The fund fraud involved millions of dollars in undocumented political funding, with some factions in the party accused of paying lawmakers the proceeds of fundraising sales as kickbacks or failing to properly report their income.

Former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida tried to contain the damage by replacing several cabinet ministers and disbanding LDP factions. But he faced calls to resign and announced in August that he would not run for a second term.

Ishiba reportedly said he would not officially endorse some party lawmakers implicated in corruption, but allowed them to run as independents.

The prime minister also appears to be stepping back in several positions after becoming LDP leader. He supported legislation that would have allowed married women to keep their maiden names, but later said it called for “further debate”. According to For Kyoto news.

As defense minister, Ishiba was strong on deterrence as a security issue. Before the election, he proposed an Asian version of the NATO Security Council, an idea he apparently abandoned after being rejected by the United States.

According to Reuters, Ishiba has promised financial aid for low-income families, a higher minimum wage and regional revitalization. He promised a “complete exit” from Japan’s high inflation rates, pledging to achieve “growth in real wages”.

Japan’s elections come a week before the US elects a new president. Ishiba has prioritized strengthening Japan’s ties with the United States and seeking deeper ties with allies amid rising security challenges in Asia.

The partnership with Japan has long been central to US strategy in the Asia-Pacific region, and Ishiba’s predecessor, Kishida, this year expanded Japan’s defense cooperation with its key ally. Ishiba has called for a more balanced relationship, including greater oversight of US military bases in Japan, according to Reuters.

In a political culture that prizes conformity, Ishiba has long been willing to criticize and go against his own party. That willingness to speak out has made him powerful enemies within the LDP, but endears him to grassroots members and the public.

Now, the game for power will begin with all parties trying to forge alliances to get enough seats to form the government.

The political future of Ishiba and the LDP is uncertain, and one of the world’s most important economies faces a period of uncertainty until upper house elections next summer.