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Japan’s ruling coalition loses majority in upper house of parliament

Under the best scenario LDP and Komeito may count on 49 out of 124 seats

TOKYO, July 20. /TASS/. Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its coalition partner Komeito have lost majority in the upper house, according to the data from polling stations.

Thus, it is clear that the LDP and Komeito will not be able to garner enough seats to preserve the collective majority in the upper house as under the best scenario they may count on 49 out of 124 seats whereas 50 seats are needed for that.

The ruling bloc lost majority in the lower parliament house last fall. However, it managed to stay in power amid disputes within the opposition and formed a government of minority.

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has acknowledged that the ruling bloc must learn a lesson from this situation. He did not say whether he would claim responsibility for the failure and resign, noting only that he and him party must implement what they had promised to their voters.

Almost all other parties, except the LDP and Komeito, improved their positions in the upper house. According to Kyodo, the voter turnout was 58.02%, or by 5.96 p.p. more than during thr 2022 elections.

The upper house of Japan’s parliament has 248 seats. Lawmakers are elected for a term of six year. Elections however are held every three years to fill half of the seats. Today, 124 seats and one vacant one were contested. In all, 125 members were elected: 75 in single-seat constituencies and 50 under the party list system.

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