The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) alone won more than an absolute majority of 233 of the 465 seats in the lower house, as Japanese television stations reported late on Sunday evening. Together with Komeito, the party secured a stable majority of more than 260 seats in the relevant chamber of the national parliament.
However, the LDP lost quite a number of its previous 276 seats to the opposition. Prime Minister Kishida nevertheless rated the result as a “valuable mandate”. How long the LDP will process the losses internally depends on how long Kishida can hold out as party leader and head of government in the world’s third largest economy. The former foreign minister did not take office until the beginning of October.
The election was seen as a referendum over almost nine years of LDP rule under Kishida’s predecessors Shinzo Abe and his follower Yoshihide Suga. Long-time Prime Minister Abe, who leads the right-wing conservative wing of the LDP, which has ruled almost continuously for six decades, continues to exert strong influence. This seems to be met with increasing dissatisfaction among the population.
According to the media, the opposition, social democratically oriented Party of Constitutional Democracy (PKD) was able to increase its number from 109 seats in the 465-seat lower house. She had cooperated with the Japanese Communist Party, among others.
However, many citizens see no real alternative to the LDP in the opposition, which is why some critics speak of a one-party state. The LDP ultimately benefits from the widespread disenchantment with politics because it has a loyal base of voters.
Before he was elected head of government, Kishida had promised a “new capitalism” designed to narrow the widening gap between rich and poor. In doing so, he distanced himself from years of economic neoliberalism under Abe and dug the opposition off the ground with his call for economic redistribution.
“But Kishida had to row back quickly,” says Sven Saaler, professor of modern Japanese history at Sophia University in Tokyo. In the internal party struggle for the LDP chairmanship against the reformist and popular ex-foreign minister Taro Kono, Kishida needed the support of Abe’s power group. This was then demonstrated by Kishida’s occupation of important party and cabinet posts. This cost him a lot of popularity, said Saaler. After the LDP’s loss in the general election, it remains to be seen to what extent Kishida can step out of Abe’s shadow.